Alumni Stories: Jane Salmon '78

Dr. Jane Salmon is the Collette Kean Research Professor at Hospital for Special Surgery, where she directs the Lupus and APS Center of Excellence. She is Professor of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs at Weill Cornell College of Medicine. At VP&S, she was the first woman enrolled in their Medical Scientist Training Program.

Question: Dr. Kenneth Forde, who was Chair of the Honors and Awards Committee for more than two decades, appointed you as his successor. What do you look forward to in this role?

Dr. Salmon: The accomplishments of VP&S alumni are breathtaking. I am excited and honored to lead the committee that will select distinguished alumni to receive the awards in Clinical Medicine, Research, Service and the Virginia Kneeland Frantz ’22 Award. We must broadly publicize our awardees, because they provide role models for other VP&S alumni to continue our legacy of excellence and leadership in medicine. I hope to prove myself worthy of Dr. Forde’s confidence in me and to serve VP&S with the energy, enthusiasm, and devotion that he did.

Question: What skills or values do you think are essential for being a doctor in today’s evolving field of medicine?

Dr. Salmon: Empathy (for peers and patients), perseverance (some days you will feel like Sisyphus), and flexibility and curiosity (we must change practice based on new knowledge).

Question: Your research into lupus and other autoimmune diseases led to a paradigm shift in the understanding of mechanisms of pregnancy loss, cardiovascular disease, and tissue damage. What brought you to this field, and what is on your horizon?

Dr. Salmon: At VP&S, I saw my first patients with lupus. They were young women, like me, but they had a mysterious disease. I wanted to understand their illness and improve their lives. I was an MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program, the forerunner of the MD-PhD Program) student, committed to a career in research. VP&S gave me the basic tools to investigate lupus and go on to a career in academic medicine, to make a difference. My team identified dysregulated inflammatory pathways that cause adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with lupus, and we are now testing a new therapy to prevent these complications.

Question: Is there a memory that stands out from your time at VP&S?

Dr. Salmon: During my third year clerkship in pediatrics, I cared for young boy with post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. He asked me to come to his bedside one afternoon to meet his mother, and introduced to me to her as "my doctor who is a nurse." Even then, the number of women at VP&S had increased, but his response made it clear to me that society would take longer to change. I like to think I contributed to accelerate the pace of that change.

Question: What activities do you enjoy outside of medicine?

Dr. Salmon: I like to travel, to wander through cities and villages, sample food at local markets and immerse myself in other cultures. I love both to listen to the Beatles and go to the opera. And I am a passionate collector of works of art on paper, particularly the work of women artists.

Question: Is there anything else you would like to share?

Dr. Salmon: Over the years, I have come to appreciate the outstanding education I had at VP&S, due in large part to the extraordinary faculty and to my peers. Among these classmates, many have made important contributions to medical science and health care. We recognize these physicians with honors from the VP&S Alumni Association.