Janet Mifsud
Breaking new ground in medicine, as well as contributing to many sections of society
Janet Mifsud has had a most distinguished career. Her varied and worthy achievements are by themselves each a splendid contribution to society. However, together they provide a true inspiration to women everywhere.
Janet is primarily senior lecturer in the Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta. Her research activities lie in the areas of pharmacokinetics, drug analysis and drug development especially in the area of antiepileptic drug therapy. Her present research considers various aspects of the incidence and treatment of epilepsy in Malta, in specific populations, and the newer antiepileptic drugs, and it has now expanded to the genetic implications, especially within a small population setting such as Malta.
In addition to these accomplishments, Janet has made many other singular contributions to society. She is the Co-ordinator of a $12,000 UNESCO funded project on Gender Gap in science and technology in Malta.
Janet was also appointed Commissioner, for the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality from 2004 - 2010. This is the national authority which has the mandate to ensure equality on several anti-discrimination grounds, particularly gender and race; as well as representing Malta at international and EU meetings in this regard.
She has organised, to date, five national conferences on epilepsy with over 250 participants each. She has been Secretary of EUREPA, European Epilepsy Academy, and is presently Vice President for the International Bureau of Epilepsy. She has been appointed consultant on EU affairs to several key institutions in Malta - e.g. Medicines Authority (Malta) on technical procedures; Malta Enterprise on matters relating to the pharmaceutical industry in Malta; and, local pharmaceutical industry on EU regulatory processes.
Janet was also a Board member for the Malta Council for Science and Technology from 2002 to 2008; and she was appointed member of the Public Service Commission, a constitutional body, which oversees all activities associated with the Public Service in Malta, between 2000 and 2009. She is also a member of the Medical Commission for the Malta Football Association. Since 1995, Janet is a founder Member and advisor, to the Caritas Malta Epilepsy Association, and also Secretary of the Epilepsy Society of Malta, the professional organisation.
As though all the above is not enough, since 2010 Janet is Malta’s representative, on the Committee of Scientific Officers (CSO)and national contact point (CNC), Cooperation in Science and Technology EU (COST) research programme and has attracted over 30 Malta based researchers to participate in COST actions.
Relevant Information:
Recent figures (2011) from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], which tracks the trend in more than 30 countries, have revealed changes in the kinds of career choices being made by women. Over the past three decades, the proportion of women in medical schools has risen in Europe, [as well as globally – in the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa]. Most medical schools in England have more female students than male, with almost 56%, or 5,170, in the entering classes last year. At the current rate, the Royal College of Physicians expects women to make up the majority of all doctors in Britain by 2017. women now earn 42% of the science degrees in the 30 countries of the; in the life sciences, such as biology and medicine, more than 6 out of 10 graduates are women. Please use this link for more information: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/world/europe/08iht-ffdocs08.html?pagewanted=all
The tug-of-war between encouraging numbers and depressing details is in many ways the story of the advancement of women overall. Women get more degrees and score higher grades than men in industrialized countries. But they are still paid less and are more likely to work part time. Only 18 percent of tenured professors in the 27 countries of the European Union are women. They are also more likely to do more unpaid work than men.
SOURCE: OECD