Women Shaping the Future of Healthcare in Pittsburgh
- Hilary Daninhirsch
- 7 hours ago
- 5 min read
Though women make up the majority of the healthcare workforce globally, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions. As Pittsburgh is a major medical hub, the city is fortunate to have a strong presence of women in prominent leadership positions in the healthcare realm. We talked to three of these women about their careers to date.
Sonia Borrero, MD, MS
For Dr. Sonia Borrero, working at the intersection of humanities and science has proven to be an ideal career path, particularly one that focuses on women’s health. Dr. Borrero chose UPMC to do her residency in internal medicine because of its reputation as having one of the best women’s health programs in the country.
“Even while working clinically in women’s health, I was always drawn to issues of justice and health disparities, but those two worlds hadn’t really come together yet. Socially, I was engaged with questions of equity, while clinically I was focused on women’s health, gynecology, and reproductive health and was not sure at the time how to marry them,” she said.
But encouraged by her mentors, she was able to forge her own path, joining a fellowship program and earning a master’s in research. In part based upon a historical fiction novel she read about coercive sterilization, she continued to delve into these questions about how these issues affected women in the U.S.
Initially, she practiced medicine at the local VA hospital while continuing to conduct research but found that she preferred to focus on this important research.
Today, Borrero, who is also a professor at Pitt Med School, founded and runs CONVERGE, a multidisciplinary research center at the University of Pittsburgh that performs and translates research regarding women’s reproductive health.
“We have been growing by leaps and bounds and are focused on sexual and reproductive health, specifically for marginalized populations—those living on lower income or serious and stigmatizing chronic illness, marginalized and racial ethnic groups, veterans, and sexual and gender minorities. Our goal is to produce and translate research to advance sexual and reproductive health equity by changing culture and informing clinical practice and changing policy,” she said, adding that CONVERGE now has a core group of 9–10 faculty, over 20 affiliate faculty, and about 17–20 staff.
Borrero finds a great deal of meaning in her work and is especially passionate about being a mentor to younger researchers, having won several mentoring awards.
As a clinician-researcher, particularly in the field of reproductive health, Borrero faces challenges, especially as this field has been politicized. But personally, she said she has felt wholly supported for most of her training and as a faculty member. In many ways, she is forging a new path in health equity and patient-centered care.
“We cannot improve population outcomes for all Americans unless we pay attention to where there are inequities or disparities—that is the backbone of public health and medicine,” she said.
Emilia Diego, MD
In her roles as Division Chief of Breast Surgery at UPMC and Co-Director of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center/Magee-Womens Hospital Breast Cancer Program, Dr. Emilia Diego is envisioning a world in which her services are no longer needed.
“We are responsible for moving the needle in breast cancer care, both on a national and international level. More than just how surgery is performed, we have opportunities to improve and personalize breast cancer treatment. We have that kind of impact,” said Diego.
Indeed, Magee plays a national role in breast cancer innovation and research: it is in the top ten in volume across the country in terms of how many patients they see and treat. “Pittsburgh has a long history with respect to breast cancer treatment; it doesn’t get as widely advertised as it should,” she said, noting that Magee has made history with clinical trials. In fact, Diego is heavily involved with breast cancer vaccine trials, targeting women who have a specific kind of Stage-0 breast cancer.
Another area of interest for Diego is her involvement with the pre-menopausal breast cancer program for women diagnosed before the age of 45.
Though Diego did not seek out a leadership role, not having had a lot of female role models, as surgery is male-dominated, she now sees that as an advantage.
“There is a place for gentle leadership, especially in a setting where surgical training and surgical environments tend to form this culture that feels a lot more militaristic.”
Diego is passionate about what she does, because the impact for her is personal.
“I have had family members who have also been affected by breast cancer, and I think it just makes sense for women to help other women. I say that from the perspective of being raised in an Asian country—where the mother was considered the anchor of the family unit, the home, so we are all mothers in our own right. Women are such a pivotal and important part of our culture and environment. We play a unique role, and to be able to help impact the health of so many people who play such important roles for other human beings is the biggest driver of what I do.”
Kirsten Lin, MD
When her own doctor never called her to tell her that her mammogram results revealed breast cancer, Dr. Kirsten Lin of McCandless, who had been in private practice with a major health system for 12 years, knew that she wanted to do better by her own patients and give them the personalized care that they sought.
That prompted Lin to co-found Direct Care Physicians of Pittsburgh, an independent medical practice in which members pay an affordable monthly fee so that they can get ”healthcare, without the hassle.” This model makes care more accessible to a broader range of patients—one that Lin hopes will bridge the gap between patient and doctor. “In June 2014, there were 125 known direct care practices in the U.S. Now, there are 2,647,” she said.
“Before, in the big health system, you don’t have time to really spend with patients, or call them back. Here, because I can keep my patient panel to a reasonable size, I can see patients quickly or for an hour or more. I respond to my emails from patients quickly, so they have my time, attention, and access to me in a way that they definitely did not in a corporate healthcare setting,” said Lin, who specializes in family medicine.
Lin also communicates with and coordinates care with patients’ specialists, and her patients have her cell phone number.
In addition to her practice, Lin is the president-elect of the Allegheny County Medical Society.
“It is a society run for physicians by physicians,” Lin explained. “The idea is that if we help physicians to be well themselves, we’ll be better doctors for the patients in this region that we serve.”
The second prong of the organization is the Allegheny County Medical Society Foundation, which is its charitable arm. In 2024, Lin said the foundation donated over $200,000 to local charities.
Lin said that there are equal numbers of women and men entering medical school, but often, women are not represented in leadership positions, in part because working women come home for what Lin calls a “second and third shift.”
“The direct care model gave me a way to make my life saner because I can set my own hours. We have to promote ways for women to be healthy in their jobs and do a better job with work-life balance. If we can have women with a good work-life balance who are healthy, we are going to be better leaders and better doctors.”