DR. PAULA GORDON

Clinical Professor, Department of Radiology Medical Director, Sadie Diamond Breast Program

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA; BC WOMEN’S HOSPITAL & HEALTH CENTRE

Dr. Paula Gordon began her career as a staff radiologist at the UBC Hospital, where her training put her in the unique position of using ultrasound of the breast to help distinguish non-cancerous from cancerous masses and to pioneer the use of ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of breast lumps, which is now the standard-of-care.

“I’m most proud of the residents and fellows I’ve trained and mentored over the past 30 years.”

“There still aren’t enough of us. I worry that too many young women limit their own professional ambitions because of barriers that are intrinsic, not extrinsic. I’m excited that today’s medical school classes are increasingly dominated by women; the last barriers will fall when every young woman knows a female physician.”

“I’m a scientist. We don’t fear the unknown; we explore it.”

“Go for it. It’s so worth it. If you’re willing to work hard and be organized, you can have it all.”

As a girl growing up in Iran in the 1960s and 1970s, Dr. Zahra Kazem-Moussavi did not receive the same quality of education in her hometown as a boy her age would have. She pushed past the cultural barriers, went on to earn PhDs in electrical engineering and biomedical engineering and is now using her expertise to produce groundbreaking research in the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“Establishment of a research program targeting Alzheimer’s early detection and providing innovative therapy for Alzheimer’s patients.”

“I remember talking to the graduate chair of the electrical engineering department when I was entering the master’s program. My children, four and seven at the time, were running around in the hallway, tired of waiting. The graduate chair said, ‘Wouldn’t it better for you to stay home and take care of your children instead?’ I said, ‘I think that should be my decision; after all, I did my B.Sc. engineering program when they were babies and harder to care for.’”