NIH Announces New BIRCWH Awards to Promote Interdisciplinary
Research Careers in Women's Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on
Women’s Health (ORWH) and other co-sponsors announce the award
of more than $7 million to 15 new and continuing Building Interdisciplinary
Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) programs nationwide.
This expands an innovative effort to foster career development
in women's health research with an emphasis on innovative interdisciplinary
mentoring across a variety of disciplines.
The first BIRCWH Centers were established in the fall of 2000
and the latest awards are in response to the fourth solicitation.
BIRCWH was developed to promote the career development of independent
researchers working on women's health issues by pairing scholars
with senior investigators in a mentored, interdisciplinary scientific
environment.
"We are proud that the BIRCWH programs offer supportive opportunities
for career development for women and men in interdisciplinary women's
health research through strong mentoring by established scientists
with diverse and broad expertise," said Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., Director
of ORWH.
Institutions receiving FY 2007 BIRCWH awards include:
Karen Freund, M.D., Boston University
R. Sanders Williams, M.D., Duke University
Kathleen Brady, M.D., Ph.D., Medical University of South Carolina
J. Larry Jameson, M.D., Ph.D., Northwestern University
Lesley Hallick, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Carol Weisman, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Lee Hamm, M.D., Tulane University
Lorna Moore, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Denver and Health Sciences
Center
Stacie Geller, Ph.D., University of Illinois, Chicago
Patricia Langenberg, Ph.D., University of Maryland
Anne Taylor, M.D., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
James Roberts, M.D., University of Pittsburgh
Madison Gloria Sarto, M.D., Ph.D., University of Wisconsin
Nancy Brown, M.D., Vanderbilt University
Jerome Strauss, M.D., Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University
The BIRCWH program fosters the career development of junior faculty
members who are engaging in basic, clinical, translational, behavioral,
or health services research in any area relevant to women's health
with an emphasis on sex and gender factors. BIRCWH Programs accomplish
this goal by mentoring junior faculty to bridge advanced training
with independent research in areas that integrate scientific disciplines.
To date, almost 300 scholars have been mentored and have learned
research techniques and skills to become independent investigators
and mentors themselves. The mentors at each site are investigators
committed to fostering interdisciplinary approaches to research
in women's health and sex/gender factors. This program develops
a cadre of independently funded scientists who can further advance
and perpetuate an interdisciplinary team approach to science and
sex/gender specific health care principles.
"The BIRCWH awards promote the professional growth and development
of junior investigators," said Duane Alexander, M.D., director
of NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "This
helps to ensure that qualified women's health researchers will
be available tomorrow to build upon the research advances of today."
The ORWH leads the BIRCWH initiative, which is administered by
the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
and co-sponsored by the following NIH Institutes and Offices, as
well as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: NIH Office
of Dietary Supplements, National Institute on Aging, National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Arthritis
and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and the National Institute
of Mental Health.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible
for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers.
This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs
and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director
also includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating
specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information
is available at http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/.
The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), Office of the
Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH) serves as a focal
point for women's health research at the NIH. For more information
about NIH’s Office of Research on Women's Health, visit http://orwh.od.nih.gov/.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's
Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and
Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research,
and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and
its programs, visit www.nih.gov. |