At the ATS Women’s Forum, some of the speakers were (from left) Serpil Erzurum, MD, recipient of the 2011 Elizabeth A. Rich, MD, Award; Anne E. Dixon, MD, chair of the ATS Membership Committee; and guest speaker Barbara O’Brien, PhD, lieutenant governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011.

Serpil Erzurum, MD, has made great strides in researching oxidative and nitric oxide mediated mechanisms. A highly successful leader, she is a professor of medicine and chair of the Department of Pathobiology in the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.

Her reputation is stellar, and she showed her penchant for staying positive when she accepted the 2011 Elizabeth A. Rich, MD, Award during the ATS Women’s Forum on Sunday. Supported by an educational grant from Merck, the Women’s Forum highlights the advancement of women in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.

Taking a cue from a now famous You Tube video of a 4-year-old girl enthusiastically sharing many “Daily Affirmations” in a bathroom mirror, Dr. Erzurum coined a few and said, “Wouldn’t we all like each morning to like to say, ‘I like my hair. I can do anything good.'”

Just as she wants her two daughters to have female mentors in their lives, she said that she hoped her tutelage would inspire young women in her profession. “When I do this, I’m not thinking of you. I’m thinking of your mom, who is probably at home praying for you,” joked Dr. Erzurum, additionally advising the women in the room to take time out to enjoy the ride. “I don’t know that this is a race. As long as you keep driving, you’ll get there and you’ll enjoy the ride.”