Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health - Administrative Supplement

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Project Summary This is administrative supplement to the Tulane BIRCWH Program, which has successfully trained a profes- sionally diverse group of interdisciplinary researchers in women’s health and increased awareness of women’s health research at Tulane over the last 20 years. We propose now to build on our prior success and expand and reinforce the BIRCWH program base by adding a 4th scholar meeting the NIH diversity definition. The long-term goal is to increase the number and diversity of highly trained culturally competent, independent, interdisciplinary investigators in Women’s Health with an emphasis on Sex/Gender Differences research. The program’s current focus is on cardiovascular disease (CVD), infectious disease (ID) and neuroscience (NS) because of the impacts of these diseases on women, the existing knowledge gaps on the sex/gender dif- ferences across the research spectrum, and the strength of these areas at Tulane. The proposed 4th Scholar’s research aligns with these goals detailed in the parent grant. Key components of the successful career devel- opment plan include 1) didactic courses tailored to specific Scholar needs; 2) individualized career develop- ment training; 3) BIRCWH seminar series; 4) Work-in-Progress sessions; 5) required grant & scientific writing and project management workshops; 6) mentored interdisciplinary research; 7) responsible conduct in re- search training; 8) building Scholar competence in team science and equity,diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research; and 9) advancing understanding of the interplay between sex/gender with social determinants of health (SDOH). The innovative approach includes tailoring the program to Scholar’s needs using self-efficacy assessment and career development plans, and using a network mentoring model, including expertise in both basic science and clinical research. The Scholar will be immediately exposed to research and guided to estab- lish a scholarly track record early, and gain presentation and organization skills by active participation in the Health Sciences Research days-Women’s Health/Sex Differences Section. This established career develop- ment model will be key in the proposed Scholar’s success; she will also have access to all Tulane BIRCWH Pareng Grant resources and networks. The proposed Scholar will learn cutting-edge research methods and skills from Bedside (clinical research, clinical trials) to Population (epidemiology, prevention, health services research) and conduct her own research projects in an established laboratory/groups in a mentored, interdisci- plinary environment that address the 2019-2023 Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women’s Health Research. The proposed scholar’s interdisciplinary research will focus on women, reproductive health, and CVD and ad- dress overarching themes (lifespan, sex/gender determinants, health disparities, interdisciplinary research). The supplement proposes to train one (4th) BIRCWH Scholar for 2 years. Ongoing, comprehensive evaluation will guide improvements to the program's demonstrated success in bridging research training & fostering re- search independence for this Scholar with a focus on increasing diversity in women’s health research.