Michelle Golla, MD, MPH
Pediatrician
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Q&A
Who have you admired in your path into the sciences and what qualities did you see in them that you embody in your own path?
From the age of five, I knew I wanted to be a physician. I admired the work of my own pediatrician, Dr. Dawn Hackshaw, and how she used her knowledge of science to make sick kids well again. She was also a gracefully brilliant black woman with so much passion that it was contagious. I knew that like her, I wanted to serve my community and make an impact on the world, but it took many years of training and personal transitions to understand what my specific contribution to medicine would be. Dr. Hackshaw was driven, focused and remained open to learning throughout all stages of her career. She also maintained a beautiful balance of work and home life- always prioritizing home life as her motivation in her professional life.
Can you tell us about a memorable moment in your career—a time when you knew you were working in your purpose?
Education through medicine is a powerful tool that translates to the overall health of global communities. I participate in international medical mission trips often, serving women and their children. My work in Ethiopia and Haiti is focused on empowering women through the health of their community. When women are cared for, connected and educated, families will thrive. Working with local physicians and medical teams, we have developed longitudinal communication that encourages sharing of health information across culture and yields better health outcomes. Understanding the pivotal role that women play in health outcomes in communities, locally I have turned my attention to infants and children in Columbus, Ohio where the black infant mortality rate is 2.5 times that of white babies. Improvement in patient care and health literacy efforts help empower mothers as we work to improve overall health and decrease the black infant mortality in Franklin county. As Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said, “We cannot succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave, to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.” This professional realization has helped me in my most significant transition to becoming a mother of three sons myself. Being a mother in medicine I have learned that in order to care for others’ families and grow these intimate relationships with my patients, I must ensure that my own family is nurtured, thriving and happy. My patients’ mothers have taught me that to be a woman is to be inherently powerful, and to nurture and help mold our families is integral to healthy communities.
What is one book or film you would recommend to a young person interested in a career in sciences?
I would recommend “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” (book 2010; film 2017). This work is about the immortal cell lines obtained unethically from Lacks’ cervical cancer cells in 1951. As a Black woman in healthcare, this book inspired me to educate myself and my patients about consent, ethics and stress the importance of health literacy and empowerment in communities of color.
Career Highlights
- Member of the Pediatric Diversity Committee at COPC (Central Ohio Primary Care)
- Administrative Medical Director at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- 40 Under 40 Award from the Congressional Back Caucus National Minority Quality Forum
Biography
Michelle Golla, MD, MPH, is a board-certified pediatric physician with a focus on underserved populations. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and went on to receive her medical degree from The Ohio State University in 2010. She also completed her Masters of Public Health with a research focus on the relationship and prevalence of acute infectious diseases and chronic metabolic diseases in immigrant Ethiopian populations. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio where she received the distinguished Miner W. Seymour Resident Award for outstanding community pediatrics practice. As an attending pediatrician, she runs her own private practice and maintains a medical director position at Nationwide Children’s Hospital to focus on population health. She also mentors pediatric residents in her clinical-based practice. In addition to her local clinical work, she travels internationally to Haiti or Ethiopia often to serve on collaborative longitudinal missions trips sharing information and resources with global medical teams to encourage medical growth in those communities. She is also the founder of a wellness blog, MomDocDiva, that celebrates motherhood across cultures and provides evidence based and well curated information on pediatric and women’s health, self-care and work-life balance. She is married to her supportive and loving husband and is the mother of three sweet boys and counts their healthy development and giving spirits as her biggest accomplishment thus far.
