K12: Career Development in Women’s Health (The BIRCWH Program)

This application requests support to establish a BIRCWH Program at Northwestern University titled, Career Development in Women’s Health (CDWH).  This program will be used to develop a group of independent, tenure track scientists with backgrounds in clinical medicine or basic science disciplines whose research will address high priority areas relevant to women’s health.  We have identified five focus areas that have been historically strong within Northwestern and that are fundamental to the understanding and treatment of women’s health and disease – differences in cardiovascular disease risk; ovarian biology, obstetrical and gynecological disorders; sex differences in sleep and rheumatology and osteoporosis.  In order to develop expertise outside the Ob-Gyn specialty, faculty members who have interdisciplinary training in basic reproductive science and gender-specific disease research must be cultivated.  Northwestern has a longstanding and rich tradition of interdisciplinary excellence in the reproductive sciences and in disorders that affect women, providing a strong foundation upon which the CDWH program will be developed.  In achieving our goal, the Career Development in Women’s Health Program will create a focused curriculum, provide strong mentorship and engaged faculty development activities.  The junior faculty trained through this program will be in the vanguard of women’s health research scholarship and it is anticipated that training will expand to an ever-widening group of clinicians and investigators.  The program at Northwestern University is robust, timely and rigorous.  Three key ingredients drive this application and will underlie the success of the candidates: high quality research programs, high expectations and a robust training environment.  The CDWH program at Northwestern University is dedicated to these criteria and to the next generation of clinical investigators and translational scientists who will improve health and allay disease in women and men.