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A program implemented at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to identify and eliminate barriers to the promotion of women faculty appears to be successful. Faculty responded to a questionnaire in 1990 and again in 1993 after the introduction of the program. Women faculty members reported significant gains in promotion opportunities, mentoring, information resources and social support. In 5 years, the number of women at the rank of associate professor increased 550%. More women expected to be promoted and fewer considered dropping out of academic medicine., Objective.--To determine the gender-based career obstacles for women in an academic department of medicine and to report the interventions to correct such obstacles (resulting from the evaluation) and the results of these interventions. Design.--Intervention study, before-after trial, with assessment of faculty concerns and perceived change through structured, self-administered questionnaires. Setting.--The Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md. Participants.--Full-time faculty. Interventions.--Multifaceted intervention from 1990 through 1995 to correct gender-based career obstacles reported by women faculty, including problem identification, leadership, and education of faculty, and interventions to improve faculty development, mentoring, and rewards and to reduce isolation and structural career impediments. Main Outcome Measures.--Retention and promotion of deserving women faculty, salary equity, quality of mentoring, decreased isolation from information and colleagues, integration of women faculty into the scientific community, and decreased manifestations of gender bias. Results.---Junior women were retained and promoted, reversing previous experience, with a 550% increase in the number of women at the associate professor rank over 5 years (from 4 in 1990 to 26 in 1995). Interim 3-year follow-up showed a 183% increase in the proportion of women faculty who expected they would still be in academic medicine in 10 years (from 23% [7/30] in 1990 to 65% [30/46] in 1993). One half to two thirds of women faculty reported improvements in timeliness of promotions, manifestations of gender bias, access to information needed for faculty development, isolation, and salary equity. Men also reported improvements in these areas. Conclusions.--The outcomes reported here indicate that it is possible to make substantive improvements in the development of women's careers, that an institutional strategy to this end can be successful in retaining women in academic medicine, and that such interventions are likely to benefit all faculty. Long-term interventions appear essential. JAMA. 1996;276:898-905

In order to study genetic and immunological features which might be important in the pathogenesis of asthma, forty-one ragweed allergic seasonal asthmatics were first matched with forty-one ragweed allergic nonasthmatics on the basis of similar total IgE levels. No significant differences were observed in their sensitivity to ragweed antigen E (measured by histamine release), or in their skin response to ragweed antigens E, Ra3 and Ra5. An increased frequency of HLA-B5 was observed in nonasthmatics as compared to asthmatics (P = 0.03). Although frequencies of HLA-Al and B8 were also elevated in nonasthmatics and HLA-B40 in asthmatics, these differences were not significant. The forty-one asthmatic patients were then paired with forty-one nonasthmatics on the basis of leucocyte sensitivity to ragweed antigen E. Similar HLA differences were found which were non-significant. No significant difference in total IgE levels were found between the two groups. Whereas no differences in IgE synthesis or antigen sensitivity was found in the two populations, the frequency of HLA antigens needs further study in larger groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]