Honoree promotes health equity through decades of research and mentoring
Looking back, Dr. Emelia Benjamin believes the first of her many accolades for research, mentorship and education sparked her lifelong passion for medicine.
"I was named science student of the year in seventh grade, 我仍然记得作为一个女孩获得这个奖项时那种独特的满足感," she said.
这种认可激励她在男性主导的领域中克服障碍,成为一名高标准努力工作的“手肘女王”.
“在我的整个职业生涯中,我一直被低估,”本杰明说. "When you have some setbacks and challenges, it forces you to be more focused and it also makes you say, 'I don't want anybody else to be left behind.'"
For her dedication to making sure others are included, Benjamin is this year's recipient of the Louis B. Russell Jr. Memorial Award. 美国心脏协会每年颁发该奖项,以表彰对资源不足社区的杰出服务. 她将于5月2日在美国心脏协会的在线国家志愿者奖上获得荣誉 ceremony, which begins at 6 p.m. CDT and is open for public viewing.
The award's namesake, who in 1968 was the 34th 接受心脏移植手术的人,存活了六年多,这是当时的世界纪录. 罗素是一名活跃的美国心脏协会志愿者,他希望其他黑人男女了解心脏病的预防. 在1974年去世之前,他一直致力于教育他和其他资源匮乏的社区.
As a cardiologist, Benjamin promotes inclusion at Boston Medical Center, the largest safety net hospital in New England; about 73% of patients live in low-income areas. And as a professor of medicine at Boston University Chobanian & 波士顿大学公共卫生学院的医学和流行病学学院她倡导多元化和公平,以克服医疗保健的不平等.
美国心脏协会对促进公众健康的关注是本杰明自1992年以来一直是一名积极志愿者的原因之一. 她在美国心脏协会的第一个角色是谈论女性和心脏病. At the time, 这个话题的研究有限,因为人们仍然认为心脏问题主要影响男性.
Since then, she has worked to ensure diversity throughout the AHA, including on scientific councils and at science meetings. 她还主张在科学和医学的各个方面纳入更多的女性和其他未被充分代表的人群.
“研究不能只关注程序和药物发现,”她说. "In order to address real change in health outcomes, 我们需要解决健康的社会驱动因素,以解决根本的结构性问题."
In her illustrious career, 本杰明撰写了800多篇关于研究不公平的同行评审出版物, genetics, 各种心血管疾病的流行病学和预后.
她还是波士顿大学负责教师发展的副教务长 Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine在那里,她帮助领导针对早期职业、中期职业、未被充分代表的个人和女性的项目.
“多样性是一个比性别或肤色更广泛的问题,”她说. “如果我们想拥有一个伟大的医学领域,我们需要拥抱多样性. 一个多元化的团队有更多的创造性摩擦,因为我们看待事物的方式不同. 但当你的目标是追求卓越时,思想的多样性更为重要."
此外,本杰明正式指导了50名学员和教职员工,以及更多的非正式指导. She's also mentored countless AHA volunteers.
"There's the science side of mentoring, then there's the how-do-I-get-through-life side of mentoring," she said. "Both of them are important. 我最大的快乐就是看到我的学生成功,知道我打得有点小, tiny part by supporting them."
Since 1996, Benjamin has contributed to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Jackson Heart Study, 研究黑人如何不成比例地受到心血管疾病的影响.
As an international expert on atrial fibrillation, or AFib, she has researched its risk factors, heritability, genetics and increased risk of heart failure and death.
Benjamin也是Framingham心脏研究的研究员,自1988年以来一直接受美国国立卫生研究院(National Institutes of Health)有关AFib的资助, vascular function, inflammation, mobile health and chronic pain.
Her work has earned her multiple recognitions, including the Gold Heart Award in 2016, the AHA's highest volunteer honor; the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award in 2020; and the AHA's Distinguished Scientist Award in 2022.
Despite her success, 本杰明说,她在工作中从来没有考虑过获得认可——包括今年的路易斯·B. Russell Jr. Memorial Award.
"I was shocked and humbled," she said. "You don't get awards like this on your own. You get awards like this working with amazing people and building teams. There were parts of my career when I felt really alone, 我的目标是确保每个人都得到支持,并知道如何才能成功."