Winter Brunch Kicks Off 2014 WinR Mentoring Program

Winter Chicago WinR brunch attendees. Front row: Sahana Vyas, MD; Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD; Jennifer I. Lim, MD. Back row: Marissa L. Weber, MD; Alla Kukuyev, MD; Liliya Shevchenko, DO; Camille V. Palma, MD; Alice T. Lyon, MD; Pauline Merrill, MD; Manjot K. Gill, MD. Not pictured:Cheryl A. Arcinue, MD; Natalia Camacho, MD; Michelle V. Carle, BSc, MD, FRCSC; Ruchi Doshi, MD; Blanca C. Flores, MD; Samira A. Khan, MD; Feiyan Ma, MD; Niloofar Piri, MD; Preeti Poley, MD; Dmitra Skondra, MD; Susan G. Vierling, MD; Christina Y. Weng, MD, MBA; Danli Lira Xing, MD.


As part of the Women in Retina (WinR) Our Mission is Mentoring program, women retina fellows from across the United States and Canada were invited to join Chicago-area WinRs for a mentoring and networking event. Thirteen retina fellows and 10 Chicago-area WinR members met for brunch on Sunday, January 26, braving one of the coldest and snowiest winters in Chicago history.

The event, led by Brunch Co-Chairs Pauline Merrill, MD, and Sahana Vyas, MD, was an open forum for candid conversation. Discerning questions launched an exciting exchange of ideas. Insightful discussions covered approaches for training fellows, issues surrounding employment contracts, how to be productive in research, and other vital topics. 

WinR’s Our Mission is Mentoring program is made possible by contributions from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Genentech, Inc.Much personal and professional insight was shared, helping to build the framework for long-term professional and personal association among outstanding colleagues.