Our Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering (ASE) Program is in full swing, and our ASE Symposium is less than a month away. At Symposium, each intern will give a presentation on the work they have been doing this summer with their mentors. Every year we have a special guest give a keynote address, and we are very excited to share that this year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Mollie Marr!
Mollie Marr an MD/PhD student at Oregon Health & Science University. Her PhD (which which was awarded in 2021) is in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience, and her dissertation work focused on the effects of stress during pregnancy on offspring neurodevelopment and the intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with a second major in Psychology and a minor in Applied Theatre. She is currently completing her 3rd year of medical school AND a Master of Clinical Research, and is applying into child psychiatry for residency.
We are inspired by Mollie for reasons beyond her many talents and degrees. She is devoted to shining a light on exclusionary, inequitable practices in medical education and using data to improve the experience of medical trainees. She has co-authored several papers about the systemic challenges faced by students who are LGBTQ+, first-generation, or belong to racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in medicine. These challenges exist more broadly in STEM education and career paths, and we need more people like Mollie to identify ways to fix oppressive systems from the inside. I certainly view her as a role model, and I hope our incredible ASE interns will as well!