Dr. Biykem Bozkurt named fellow in ELAM program to advance women in medicine

Dr. Biykem Bozkurt, professor of medicine – cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine, has been accepted into the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) fellowship program, an initiative focused on advancing women in academic medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy.

Bozkurt is among the 28th class and will have the opportunity to improve and develop leadership skills, learn about new career goals and benefit from a network of women leaders in her field.

The ELAM® program is through the Drexel University College of Medicine and will consist of an intensive one-year fellowship of leadership training with coaching, networking and mentoring opportunities aimed at expanding the national pool of qualified women candidates for leadership in their respective fields. The program was designed especially for female faculty at the associate or full professor level who demonstrate the greatest potential for assuming executive leadership positions within the next five years.

Bozkurt was nominated to take part in the program by Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean of Baylor, and Dr. Alicia Monroe, provost and senior vice president of academic and faculty affairs.

“I am very excited to be a part of this elite group and am looking forward to opportunities for collaboration, creativity and discovery to enhance excellence in academic medicine,” said Bozkurt, who also is associate provost of faculty affairs and senior associate dean of faculty development, director of Winters Center for Heart Failure at Baylor and medicine chief at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.

The program will culminate in an ELAM Institutional Action Project. The goal is to expand leadership skills and institutional visibility through an institutional initiative that aligns with the fellow’s experience and expertise and that meets an organizational goal or need. The purpose of the IAP is to integrate the curricular resources and peer support of the fellowship in a tangible leadership contribution to the fellow's institution.

“I am excited about our Institutional Action Project on Faculty Life Cycle initiatives, which I believe will enhance faculty and institutional success and support the college’s strategic initiatives,” Bozkurt said.