Barnard hosts women’s health forum in Jerusalem

From left to right: Dr. Freya Schnabel ’78, director of breast surgery at NYU’s Langone Medical Center; Dr. Diana Flescher, medical director of Bishvilaych; Dorothy Denburg, Vice President of College Relations; Prof. Rebecca Jordan-Young; and Sara Siemiatycki, founder and executive director of Bishvilaych.

On Monday, May 23, at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Barnard partnered with Bishvilaych, Israel’s premier women’s health clinic, to host a forum entitled “Perspectives on Gender Medicine and Women’s Health.” More than 40 Barnard alumnae were among those in the audience at the event, which featured a Barnard faculty member and two distinguished alumnae in discussion about women’s issues and health policy.

Dr. Freya Schnabel ’78 delivered the first lecture, “Controversies in Breast Cancer Screening,” drawing upon her expertise as director of breast surgery at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. For the second lecture, “The Myth of the Female Brain,” Women’s Studies Professor Rebecca Jordan-Young discussed some of the research she explored in her recent book, Brainstorm: The Flaws in the Science of Sex Differences, which questions scientific claims about differences between men’s and women’s brains. The event was moderated by Bishvilaych’s medical director Dr. Diana Flescher ’76, whose daughter is a rising sophomore at Barnard.

“This event brought a bit of the Barnard experience to Israel’s alumnae community,” said Vice President of College Relations Dorothy Denburg. “It was a wonderful opportunity to connect and learn about issues that touch the lives of women in every part of the world.”

Read more about Prof. Jordan-Young’s research in The Jerusalem Post. For more information on upcoming events, visit the Barnard Alumnae site.

Barnard gratefully acknowledges the support of event sponsor Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.