(ATLANTA) – The Emory Eye Center is pleased to announce ophthalmologist Jessica Shantha, MD, has been selected to participate in the 2020-2021 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Women’s Leadership Development Program.
The ARVO Women’s Leadership Development Program aims to prepare women to serve in leadership roles within ARVO and their clinical or academic institutions. It is designed to provide emerging leaders with a highly interactive, year-long learning experience focused on leadership skill development, facilitating leadership opportunities, and networking within ARVO.
The program started in 2016.
“The ARVO Women’s Leadership Development Program aligns perfectly with my training goals and will serve as a forum to improve my skills on management of teams, negotiation, and how to navigate the academic environment,” Shantha says. “As mentorship has been a key to my success, I believe the vertical (mentor) and horizontal (other mentees) mentorship will increase my research network and value.”
The program hosts 9-12 participants and their mentors each year. Eligible participants are early-to-mid-year career female scientists who are in a faculty or tenure-track position for no more than 10 years and who have been ARVO members for a minimum of 3 years.
Throughout the program, participants work through the following key themes: Finding Your Strengths; Building and Maintaining Your Network; Time Management & Maximizing Your Productivity; Positioning Yourself Internally and Externally; People Management; ARVO Service Opportunities; Confidence; and Negotiation.
Shantha is a uveitis and medical retina specialist who joined Emory Eye Center in 2017. Her academic and clinical interests include infectious and non-infectious uveitis, emerging pathogen discovery, and addressing clinical and research gaps within uveitis and retinal disease.
In 2018, Shantha participated as a scholar in the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program at Emory University. She was also awarded a K23 Mentored Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health in 2019.