Jessica Backman-Levy, PhD, an associate professor of practice at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis; and Beryne Odeny, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Public Health Sciences at WashU Medicine, have been selected to participate in a yearlong program aimed at advancing women into senior leadership positions in global health.
Backman-Levy and Odeny will join WomenLift Health's 2025 North America cohort of the Leadership Journey. This fully funded 12-month leadership initiative equips mid-career women with mentorship, coaching and leadership development tools to enhance their impact in the global health sector. The program provides participants access to a diverse network of peers, mentors and experts while helping them refine their leadership presence and advocacy strategies.
Backman-Levy's research focuses on the intersection between gender, poverty and global maternal and child health. She aims to identify culturally appropriate interventions that promote gender equality and improve reproductive health and development outcomes. Backman-Levy is also a faculty scholar at the Institute for Public Health and a member of the School's Global Advisory Committee.
Odeny is a physician-scientist and a global public health expert. With expertise in implementation science and population sciences, she leads research focused on lung cancer screening, cardiovascular disease prevention and the integration of routine cancer screenings among high-risk populations. Her work uses a variety of research approaches, including quasi-experimental designs, mixed methods and community-based participatory research, to understand and address health disparities across the cancer care continuum.
