Created by the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH, pronounced "birch") is a mentored career-development program designed to connect junior faculty, known as BIRCWH Scholars, to senior faculty with shared interest in women's health and sex differences research. Since the program was created in 2000, more than 700 junior faculty have been part of the BIRCWH career development training from ORWH and its partners among the NIH institutes and centers. There are 19 active BIRCWH programs. ORWH and the NIH Institutes and Centers contribute over $10 million per year to support this career development program.
About BIRCWH
The BIRCWH awards are an NIH-wide collaborative effort. The BIRCWH program's current and past co-sponsors include the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Office of AIDS Research. ORWH is the NIH lead for the BIRCWH program and works with NICHD and NIDA to provide grants management for the awards.
To be eligible for the BIRCWH program, junior faculty—men and women—must have recently completed clinical training or postdoctoral fellowship and must plan to conduct interdisciplinary basic, translational, behavioral, clinical, and/or health-services research relevant to women's health. Most BIRCWH Scholars move on to obtain independent NIH grant funding after their participation in the BIRCWH program.
Interested in getting involved or learning more about the BIRCWH program? Please reach out to Dr. Lisa Begg at beggl@od.nih.gov.
Darker color indicates multiple programs located in a particular state.
Background to the BIRCWH
- What is the BIRCWH Program?
- BIRCWH 20th Anniversary series
Ruth L. Kirschstein Memorial Lectureship
Dr. Ruth Kirschstein—an exceptional scientist, mentor, and health administrator—was the first woman to direct an NIH institute. She led the National Institute of General Medical Sciences from 1974 to 1993 and later served as Principal NIH Deputy Director and twice as NIH Acting Director. The Ruth L. Kirschstein Memorial Lectureship is presented in honor of her life and achievements.
| Year | Event | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Conference on Evidence-Based Innovations to Support Women in Biomedical Research Careers June 6, 2016 |
Shirley Malcom, Ph.D. Director, Education and Human Resources Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| 2018 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting November 28, 2018 |
Jeanne-Marie Guise, M.D., M.P.H. Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine |
| 2019 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 11, 2019 |
Judith Regensteiner, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine |
| 2020 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 14, 2020 |
Patricia E. Molina, Ph.D. Richard Ashman Professor and Head, Department of Physiology; Director, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence; Director, Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center, School of Medicine; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans |
| 2021 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 13, 2021 |
Molly L. Carnes, M.D., M.S. Virginia Valian Professor, Departments of Medicine, Psychiatry, and Industrial and Systems Engineering; Director, Center for Women’s Health Research; Co-Director, Women in Science & Engineering Leadership Institute; University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| 2022 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting November 2, 2022 |
Katherine E. Hartmann, M.D., Ph.D. Vice President for Research Integration Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Scientist Development Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology & Medicine Lucius E. Burch Chair, Reproductive Physiology & Family Planning Vanderbilt University |