If you’re a woman, you’ve probably had this experience: You’re sitting in a meeting and you make a solid point — something you know needs to be said. Your colleagues nod politely. Ten minutes later, a man makes a remarkably similar point, and the same people are so impressed they laughingly tell him to take the rest of the day off. Wait, what just happened? This month, we introduce a smattering of local women because we know what they’re saying and doing deserves our attention.
Pick an industry, trade, or calling and you will find women leading the charge for progress. We spotlight women whose professional and personal contributions help shape our collective future — women who are making points we should all listen to. The people you will read about are remarkable, but this is not a contest or a ranking. Rather, we present women whose contributions, just like those of so many other people of all genders, warrant our attention. Listen up.
photograph courtesy st. jude global
Growing up in rural Paraguay as the fifth of 12 children, Dr. Miguela Caniza came of age with a heightened sense of identity. What roles could she play, and where might she thrive?
Before her tenth birthday, Caniza discovered a thick book on medical care in her home, somewhat ironic as her mother never learned to read. She found herself working as a nursing assistant during her teen years, and a career in medicine had begun. Today, as director of the Infectious Diseases Program for St. Jude Global, Caniza leads an international effort to inform and educate immunocompromised communities, a role that’s grown in significance amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I told classmates I wanted to go into surgery, and they said, ‘Forget it, Miguela. You are a woman.’ You can do either obstetrics or pediatrics. I had already gone through so many challenges, I wasn’t going to fight that. And I liked pediatrics anyway.” — Dr. Miguela Caniza
“This will not be the last pandemic,” says Caniza, noting that some forget the H1N1 crisis of 2009 had legitimate worldwide impact. “A pandemic normally lasts long,” she says. “[These types of virus] live with us and become part of us. They’re creatures, I’d say, with one-way tickets. No return. My view now: actions so relatively simple [masking and vaccinations], many people just can’t do it. Right now, if everybody were to say, ‘I’ll isolate myself,’ this would die off. The reasons for not doing these things are multiple: mobility, obligations, political views, life philosophy. They all come into play. And it’s why we’re still facing [the pandemic].”
Caniza earned her medical degree at the Universidad Nacional de Asuncion in Paraguay, then moved to the United States (initially California) in 1985. She found her way to Memphis (after some time in Columbia, South Carolina) in 2001 when St. Jude hired her husband, Dr. Stephen White. (White is currently president of the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.) When Dr. Elaine Tuomanen — chair of St. Jude’s Infectious Diseases Department and a colleague of White’s — learned of Caniza’s experience in the field, a professional match was made.
“Infectious disease has a beginning and an end,” says Caniza in explaining her attraction to the field that has come to dominate medical discussion across the globe. “You try to figure out what it is, find the resources to fight, then [hopefully], that’s the end of that. When you suspect an infection, you become a detective. Where is this coming from? How did this arrive in the patient? And is the infection controlled, or not? There are three steps: controlling, curing, and eradicating.”
Caniza credits her mother when reflecting on her career in medicine, as she felt no barriers, even as a young girl. It was only upon reaching medical school that her gender seemed to become a factor.
“I told classmates I wanted to go into surgery,” she explains, “and they said, ‘Forget it, Miguela. You are a woman.’ You can do either obstetrics or pediatrics. I had already gone through so many challenges, I wasn’t going to fight that. And I liked pediatrics anyway.”
Speaking for herself and eight sisters, Caniza emphasizes that medicine, not to mention humankind, is evolving, and young women interested in a science-based career should pursue it with vigor.
“You can overcome,” she says. “It may be difficult at times, but you can overcome with grace and understanding of other people.”
“I don’t see much of a difference,” she says, between a woman’s approach to healthcare and that of a man. “My husband is a scientist, and he’s very straightforward. I will consider [multiple factors and possibilities], but that’s not so much because I’m a woman but for my training in infectious disease.”
Caniza acknowledges that motherhood — she has a daughter — has influenced her career perspective, and vice versa. “There were times we didn’t go to the doctor for minor illnesses,” she notes, “as I knew it wasn’t necessary. Now, I wouldn’t recommend that for mothers [without my background].” She chuckles with gratitude for her skillset, knowing hyper-vigilance with a child’s health is the rule for all mothers and fathers.
What would Miguela Caniza, MD, advise her 13-year-old self if she could go back to those first days in a nursing ward? “I would just nurture,” she says. “Those were years of wonder and curiosity and possibilities. Just encourage. My mom was great. She told me to go ahead and do it. It was a time of innocence.”
