Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health

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Abstract The goal of the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Program is to provide a structured environment that promotes the development of junior faculty researchers into independent scientists with a commitment to interdisciplinary research benefitting the health and well-being of women across the lifespan. VCU is a national leader in women’s health with robust research on sex/gender influences on health, and it offers extensive and varied opportunities and support for training and research in these areas. The BIRCWH Program will recruit promising early-career faculty candidates and implement a novel, interdisciplinary mentoring approach matching scholars with a team of mentors who will bring varied perspectives to the scholars’ research and career development; design and implement a structured, personalized education and training plan to develop scholars knowledgeable about women’s health and sex/gender influences who are proficient in study design and conduct, data analysis, and publication in accordance with best regulatory and ethical practices; and connect scholars with other researchers and clinicians from across VCU as well as from other universities and with community partners to encourage interdisciplinary, scientifically rigorous, clinically relevant research on women’s health and sex/gender differences. With a focus on the five areas of Cancer, Maternal-Child Health, Mental Health and Addiction, Neuro-Musculoskeletal Health, and Obesity and Cardiovascular Health, the program will leverage the expertise of VCU’s exceptional women’s health researchers to train junior researchers in areas that are particularly relevant to women and the study of sex/gender influences on health. The VCU BIRCWH Program will be directed by an interdisciplinary team of internationally acclaimed women’s health researchers and administratively housed in the VCU Institute for Women’s Health, providing an environment that supports sex/gender-focused training and research that transcends any single school or discipline. Scholar candidates will be recruited from a rich, diverse pool of qualified faculty both within and outside VCU with a particular focus on identifying exceptional women and minority candidates for the program. Three scholars at a time will receive salary support, related research and career development funds, and an individual career development plan (ICD) through the BIRCWH Program. VCU has a long-standing commitment to women’s health research and practice and a coordinated agenda to train interdisciplinary researchers. The VCU BIRCWH Program will provide a unique setting to develop a new generation of interdisciplinary investigators trained to improve women’s health by better understanding the role of sex and gender in disease risk, clinical manifestations, treatment, and outcomes as well as in health and health care delivery.