Tail Lights

Abstract

1st October 2023. As autumn leaves fall
softly and rustle to the ground, this popped
up on my Twitter feed: 52 years ago, the very
first CT scan was performed on a person.
Godfrey Hounsfield was apparently
intrigued by the notion of using cosmic rays
to find hidden structures without “opening
the box” or entering ancient Egyptian
pyramids. This brought to my mind the
beautiful bag Elliot (MedChir President,
2022/23) gifted me on behalf of MedChir at
the Alumni Ball 2023. Why? Because the first
woman featured on the bag is Cleopatra. I
loved it so much I ordered a few more for
Professor Judy Yee MD in New York City. She
was chuffed and Twitter lit up with requests
on where to buy them! (Supporting the local
economy and all that….!)
As we continue striving towards gender
equality, I thought I’d share the wonderful
event Elliot and the MedChir team pulled
together for International Women’s Day,
showcasing 4 amazing women Professors. It
was a scintillating evening where we were
privileged to hear and learn about their very
different careers and experiences
culminating in Professorships in Medicine.
No mean feat by any standards! (Let me
know if you would like to attend another
evening like this and I’ll see what we can do).
Professor Rona Mackie / Lady Black
another woman who changed the world!
(disappointingly, not pictured on the bag)
regrettably could not join us on the night. As
the first woman appointed to an established
Chair at the University of Glasgow,
Professor Mackie is a trailblazer, achieving
and continuing to achieve so much in her
career and life. As one of the founding
members of The Academy of Medical
Sciences, not only has she been at the
forefront of groundbreaking medical
research, but has also enabled others to
continue advancing cutting edge medicine as
well as establishing one of the most
successful medical mentoring programmes. I
hope you enjoy reading our little chat and
draw as much inspiration from it as I did
meeting her! Her vitality and formidability is
something that we should all aspire to!