Created by the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) in partnership with NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices (ICO), 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 800 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 $15 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 NIAMS and NIDA to provide grants management for the awards.
To be eligible for the BIRCWH program as a BIRCWH scholar, 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. Starting FY 2023, the BIRCWH program has expanded to include BIRCWH trainees who are post-doctoral fellows or instructor-level faculty.
Interested in getting involved or learning more about the BIRCWH program? Please reach out to ORWH at ORWHCareers@nih.gov.
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Ruth L. Kirschstein Memorial Lecture
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 Lecture 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, Vanderbilt University |
| 2023 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 5, 2023 | Karen M. Freund, M.D., M.P.H Physician-in-Chief, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center Sheldon M. Wolff Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine Harry and Elsa Jiler Clinical Research Professor, American Cancer Society |
| 2024 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting October 1, 2024 | Abbey Berenson, M.D., M.M.S., Ph.D. Director, UTMB Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health Director, Division of Population and Preventive Health, Department of Ob/Gyn Garland D. Anderson MD Distinguished University Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor, Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics Professor, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health The University of Texas Medical Branch Adjunct Professor, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
Legacy of Leadership Lecture
The inaugural presentation of the Legacy of Leadership Lecture was delivered at the 20th Anniversary of the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Annual Meeting on December 14, 2020.
| Year | Event | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 14, 2020 | Claire E. Sterk, Ph.D. President Emerita Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health Emory University |
| 2021 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 13, 2021 | Claire Pomeroy, M.D., M.B.A. President Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation |
| 2022 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting November 2, 2022 | Judith A. James, M.D., Ph.D. Lou C. Kerr Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research Associate Vice Provost for Clinical and Translational Science George Lynn Cross Professor of Research, Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pathology Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center; Vice President of Clinical Affairs Member and Program Chair, Arthritis & Clinical Immunology Research Program Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation |
| 2023 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting December 5, 2023 | Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc. Director, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Head, Genomics and Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease Section, Medical Genetics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) |
| 2024 | BIRCWH Annual Meeting October 1, 2024 | Nina F. Schor, M.D., Ph.D. NIH Deputy Director for Intramural Research Former Deputy Director of National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Former Academic Appointments: Ann Craumer Professor of Pediatric Research, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Chief of the Division of Child Neurology in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh Associate Dean for Medical Student Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine William H. Eilinger Chair of the Department of Pediatrics Pediatrician-in-Chief of the Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester |