About Us

The Brody Women Faculty Committee consists of women professionals at the Brody School of Medicine. The committee aims to increase institutional effectiveness by supporting the recruitment, retention and promotion of female professionals. The BWFC is a welcoming community of women who work to improve awareness of issues of particular interest to women, track information about women faculty at the Brody School of Medicine, support current and future women professionals through mentorship, and offer programming on leadership, career development, and women’s perspectives.

Our Mission and Bylaws

Our mission is to support the professional development and advancement of women professionals at the Brody School of Medicine (BSOM) through advocacy, mentoring, education, and collaboration. Our goals are to:

• support women professionals and the leadership of the school
• augment professional skills and enhance career development
• create a work environment supportive of women professionals
• aid in the recruitment and retention of women professionals
• foster a culture of equity, diversity, and collegial respect
• raise awareness of contributions made and challenges faced by women professionals
• advocate for policies supportive of our mission
• enhance and facilitate relationships with internal and external groups in addressing common areas of interest

Brody Women Faculty Committee Bylaws (pdf)

Background

The Brody Women Faculty Committee was created as a result of the work of the Advisory Committee for Women in Medicine, established in 2004 by Dean Cynda Johnson to address the needs of female faculty. That Committee’s 2005 report, written by Dr. Virginia Hardy and Dr. Lesly Mega, recommended the re-establishment of a Women in Medicine committee to promote networking, celebrate accomplishments, and share information of relevance to women professionals. Since its inception, the BWFC has grown in membership and has expanded the scope of our initiatives and activities.

Current Officers

• Karen Litwa, PhD (Chair)
• Jitka Virga, PhD (Chair-Elect)
• Yaolin Zhou, MD (Past Chair)
• Morgan Milton, PhD (Treasurer/Secretary)
• Jessica Ellis, PhD (Program Chair)
• Jasmin Jo, MD (Program Chair)
• Gargi Sharma, MD (Program Chair)

Karen Litwa, PhD, is an Associate Professor of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine. Dr. Litwa’s research focuses on synapse formation in the developing brain. Her research is funded by both the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Litwa is excited to serve as the current president of the Brody Women Faculty Committee and looks forward to helping women faculty build community and access resources for career success. She has previously served as the president of the Eastern Carolina Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience. In addition to directing a vibrant research program, she also currently chairs the Anatomy and Cell Biology graduate studies committee, co-chairs the Laser Technologies Application Group, and organizes science outreach, including Nerd Nite events and science art exhibits. She also loves running!

Jitka Virag, PhD, lives in Greenville, North Carolina. She has her BScH from Queen’s University at Kingston in Ontario, Canada and her PhD in Physiology from Louisiana State University in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an Associate Professor of Physiology at the Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, she investigates strategies to mitigate myocardial infarction.

Yaolin Zhou, MD, is an Associate Professor of Pathology, Head of Molecular Pathology, and Director of Quality and Test Utilization at ECU Health/ECU-Brody School of Medicine. After completing her training (Duke University, Mayo Clinic, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Cleveland Clinic), she directed the Molecular Pathology Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). While at OU, Dr. Zhou also created the EPIDEM model of quality improvement (see bit.ly/EPIDEM), which has been used locally and abroad to improve patient care. For ECU Health, she is developing guideline-supported molecular oncology pathways and spearheading Choosing Wisely initiatives. Dr. Zhou is active as a teaching and clinical faculty, serving as a bioethics and quality improvement instructor. Among her many local services, she is the immediate past chair of the ECU School of Medicine Women Faculty Committee. Nationally, Dr. Zhou is known as a two-time winner of the Choosing Wisely Award from the American Society of Clinical Pathology and a member of the board of directors for the Association for Molecular Pathologists for which she also chairs the Membership Affairs Committee.

Morgan E. Milton, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Milton’s research uses biochemical, biophysical, and microbiology techniques to understand the regulator networks governing bacterial biofilm formation. Biofilms can play a direct role in bacterial pathogenicity and antibiotic tolerance. The Milton Lab’s work will answer many basic science questions about biofilm regulatory mechanisms and will allow us to identify potential intervention points for drug targets. This research is funded by the National Institutes of Health. In her spare time, Dr. Milton practices calligraphy, gilding, and watercolors.

Jessica M. Ellis, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and member of the East Carolina Diabetes and Obesity Institute. The Ellis Lab is focused on understanding the regulation of cellular fatty acid flux under both basal and metabolically stressed conditions. We integrate biochemical, metabolic, dietary, behavioral, disease states, and molecular biology in our experimental models. Our goal is to understand how the regulation of fatty acid metabolism maintains health in order to prevent or reverse obesity, diabetes, and neurological dysfunction and disease.

Jasmin Jo, MD is a neuro-oncologist and the physician lead of the neuro-oncology program at East Carolina University. She is also an Affiliate Associate Professor of the Division of Hematology Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine at ECU Brody School of Medicine. Dr. Jo completed a three-year neuro-oncology fellowship training at the Harvard program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Center and at University of Virginia. Dr. Jo finished neurology residencies at University of Virginia and at University of the East in the. Her research interests are focused on lower grade glioma and complications of cancer, including venous thromboembolism. Dr. Jo is passionate about teaching and has mentored medical students and fellows. She is one of the organizers of the American Association of Neurology (AAN) Neuro-Oncology Trainee Forum (NOTF) Study Group for the neuro-oncology specialty board certification, as well as one of the co-hosts of the Society of Neuro-Oncology The Podcast.  She loves being a dog mom to a senior rat terrier and a rescue pit/lab mix pup. She and her husband enjoy cycling, boating and hiking with their dogs.