Faculty Spotlight: Jane Winter, MD

By: Yvaine Ye (MSJ 18)
Northwestern Medill School of Journalism

From research to mentorship 

A lot of serendipities led Jane Winter, MD, professor of medicine, into the field of hematology and oncology.

When Winter was a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, a childhood friend who lived with her at the time developed Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

“That probably had some life-long impact on my choice and my interest. It had to.”

Throughout the years, other individuals, including teachers, colleagues, and patients also inspired Winter to explore the field of hematology.

“When I was an intern and resident, some of the best role models were those who worked in lymphoma. So, I think the stars were aligned in terms of my interest.”

Now, as a councilor and member of the Executive Committee of the American Society of Hematology, Winter sees herself as a mentor. She actively looks for fellows and junior faculty, especially women, who are interested in hematologic malignancy and lymphoma. She wants to give female doctors the guidance she did not receive when she had to navigate her own career in medicine while taking care of a family.

“It was clear that certain people thought because I had young children at home, I wasn’t interested in traveling. So, they wouldn’t propose me to go to this meeting or give that talk.”

As a female physician, Winter is aware of the many challenges female doctors may face. She recalls when she was applying for a career development award, her mentor, who was supposed to provide skill training and support, only met with her to sign the grant application.

“In those days, there just weren’t women mentors. Life is very challenging in academic medicine. If one wants to have a family as well, I think it can be overwhelming. I think it’s even more difficult today.”

With generous colleagues and a supportive husband, Winter was able to overcome the barriers and achieve success. Now, she wants to do the same thing for female fellows; she wants to fill the gap and become a mentor who understands the particular needs of female fellows.

“Women still play a larger role for the most part in the care of their children in most marriages. But some of that is by choice. I always wanted to read the bedtime story, I didn’t want to give that up. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”

Sitting on the National Cancer Institute Lymphoma Steering Committee, Winter is a member of the oversight committee for all cooperative group clinical trials in adult lymphoma. She also is a member of the monitoring committee for the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network. Instead of laboratory research, she focuses her work on clinical trials but always integrates correlative studies that investigate the mechanism of action or which patients are most likely to respond.  Her fellows become the principal investigators for the studies as they move on to become faculty.  Her current trials involve the use of checkpoint inhibition in the treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma.

“I’ve always been interested in clinical medicine and it’s what I enjoy the most.”

Recognizing that clinical medicine is only one part of the research, Winter collaborates with various laboratories and research groups both here at Northwestern and worldwide.

“Having colleagues around the country and around the world that you can count on to share ideas and for collaboration really is one of the best aspects of academic medicine.”