Also On Getting Promoted as a Woman in Medicine

Author: Lucia Carbone, PhD

The following is adapted from Dr. Carbone’s remarks at the OHSU Faculty Promotion & Tenure celebration in September 2023.

My promotion would not have been possible without my awesome, hardworking group, who shares my vision and comes to work everyday with enthusiasm and drive, as well as my administrative staff. I finally owe special thanks to my collaborators both at OHSU and outside. I strongly believe in team, multi-disciplinary science.

A funny thing happened on my way to Professor…. We had to shut down our labs, deal with back-ordered supplies and equipment (I’m still receiving pipette tips ordered in 2020), and learn how to remote work and teach, while trying to remain as productive as possible and support our staff. And to add to all of that, midway through the pandemic, I became a mom!

Even at the young age of 2, when my daughter sees me at my computer, she knows that “mamma is doing important work”…(sometimes she kicks me off my desk claiming that she needs to do work). I grew up with a similar maternal presence. My mom was a Physics professor until she retired a few years ago. I have vivid memories of her working very hard. She was a dedicated teacher and I remember her grading exams and preparing her lectures in our dining room after dinner, while still making sure that we were all taken care of.

Despite her hard work, she retired as an Associate Professor due to the politics of the Italian University system, which often overlooks merit. Her own trajectory shaped mine enormously, leading me to the US in search of better opportunities, and which has made it possible for me to reach this level. This experience has made me appreciate even more the rigor and fairness of the promotion & tenure process at OHSU. And I have made my mom proud.

Thank you so much.

About the author: Lucia Carbone, PhD, is an Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, OR. She is affiliated with the Departments of Medicine, Molecular & Medical Genetics and Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology. She is also the director of the KCVI Epigenetic consortium. *** ***