Yuhchyau Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Named Fellow in Elite Leadership Program
Yuhchyau Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Philip Rubin Professor and chair of Radiation Oncology at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, has been accepted into the 2012-2013 class of Fellows for the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine. Chen was nominated for the honor by Mark B. Taubman, M.D., dean of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
"The selection of ELAM Fellows is a very competitive process and I am extremely honored to be chosen as a member of the newest class,” said Chen. “I am excited about learning new skills and knowledge that better equip healthcare leaders to be both efficient and proficient in the rapidly changing healthcare environment. Radiation Oncology is a medical specialty with evolving new technology, which can be costly. I hope to develop an analytical process and plan that will objectively assess the value and the impact of advanced technology on the cancer patient population in Upstate New York given our current and future economic challenges."
Chen is one of just 54 physician leaders selected for the 18th incoming class for ELAM®, the only program in the U.S. dedicated to preparing senior women faculty for positions of leadership at academic health centers. The program is designed to help participants foster a culture within their organizations that is more inclusive of different perspectives and responsive to societal needs and expectations. ELAM also aims to increase the diversity of women in leadership positions, and to continue to expand its reach beyond the U.S., welcoming participants from Canada, Europe and – this year – Saudi Arabia.
“The diversity of this class is evident in the inclusion of women from outside our national borders, various backgrounds and experiences, and from 48 different institutions, four of which are new to ELAM,” explains Diane Magrane, M.D., director of Drexel’s International Center for Executive Leadership in Academics, which hosts the ELAM program.
In order to be accepted into the program, each Fellow must be nominated and supported by the dean or other senior official of her institution. ELAM continues to cultivate strong partnerships with participating institutions throughout the year-long fellowship. One aspect of this relationship is the curricular requirement to conduct an Institutional Action Project, developed in collaboration with the Fellows’ dean or other senior official. These action projects are designed to address an institutional or departmental need or priority.
Chen’s participation in the program began this month with online assignments and community building activities that will continue through the end of the program in April 2013. Fellows begin the first of three week-long, in-residence sessions when they meet for the first time at the ACE Conference Center in Lafayette Hill, PA, in September.
After earning a bachelor of science degree from the prestigious National Taiwan University in Asia, Chen received the doctor of philosophy degree in experimental pathology from the University of Washington, where she also earned her medical degree. She subsequently completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Virginia Mason Hospital, in Seattle, before concurrently completing residency and fellowship requirements at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard University School of Medicine in Boston.
Chen joined the University of Rochester Medical Center in 1995, when she was appointed as assistant professor of Radiation Oncology. She began serving as acting chair of the department in December 2009 and was formally appointed chair and Philip Rubin Professor of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Wilmot Cancer Center January 1, 2012.