Overview

The course consists of four independent, interactive modules that are designed to help the biomedical research community—including researchers, NIH grant applicants, and peer reviewers—account for and appropriately integrate sex as a biological variable (SABV) across the full spectrum of biomedical sciences. The NIH SABV policy originated in a notice titled “Consideration of Sex as a Biological Variable in NIH-funded Research.” It states NIH’s expectation that SABV will be factored into research designs, analyses, and reporting in vertebrate animal and human studies as scientifically appropriate.

Janine Austin Clayton, SABV Introduction

Dr. Janine Austin Clayton, SABV Introduction

Chyren Hunter, SABV Primer Overview

Dr. Chyren Hunter, SABV Primer Overview

Module 1: SABV and the Health of Women and Men

As biomedical scientists and health professionals, we know that good science is important, and we know that those working in a field that can affect the health of an individual aim to provide the best care possible. That's why the consideration of SABV is a key focus of the NIH initiative to enhance reproducibility in biomedical research through rigor and transparency in studies. The better the science, the better able we might be able to identify the critical evidence that can improve health for everyone.

  • Module 1 Overview

    Dr. Rebecca DelCarmen-Wiggins
    Module 1 Overview

  • Sex and Gender Intersect to Alter the Outcome of Infectious Diseases

    Dr. Sabra L. Klein
    Johns Hopkins University 
    Center for Women's Health, Sex, and Gender Research

  • The "Four Core Genotypes" and XY Mouse Models

    Dr. Arthur P. Arnold
    UCLA

  • Early Antecedents to Sex Differences in Depression and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

    Dr. Jill Goldstein
    Harvard Medical School

  • Sex-related Differences in Brain Gut Microbiome

    Dr. Emeran Mayer
    UCLA

  • Considering Sex & Gender Differences in Treatment Development for Smoking Cessation

    Dr. Sherry McKee
    Yale School of Medicine

  • Sex Differences in Cardiometabolic Disease: The extraordinary role of the X chromosome

    Dr. Karen Reue
    UCLA

Module 2: SABV and Experimental Design

Considering SABV in the experimental design of biomedical research is essential to ensuring rigor and transparency and to improving generalizability of findings.

  • Module 2 Overview

    Dr. Elena Gorodetsky
    Module 2 Overview

  • Studying Sex to Strengthen Science: Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV)

    Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, Dr. Marcio Diniz, and Dr. Josh Pevnick
    Cedars-Sinai
     

  • Sex Differences in the Cardiovascular Consequences of Type 2 Diabetes: An SABV Approach

    Dr. Judith G. Regensteiner
    University of Colorado School of Medicine

  • Utilizing Translational Science to Understand the Long-Term Effects of Bilateral Oophorectomy Prior to Natural Menopause

    Dr. Michelle Mielke
    Mayo Clinic

  • Sex differences in the interaction of stress and addictions

    Dr. Aimee McRae-Clark
    Medical University of South Carolina

  • Biological Sex and Vulnerability to Infectious Diseases

    Dr. Igho Ofotokun
    Emory University School of Medicine

Module 3: SABV and Analyses

A key component of the consideration of SABV includes characterizing and analyzing sex-based data.

  • Module 3 Overview

    Dr. Elena Gorodetsky
    Module 3 Overview

  • Including SABV in Your Statistical Analysis: Advantages and Disadvantages

    Dr. Paul Wakim
    NIH Clinical Center

  • Inclusion of SABV in the Research Study Design: Impact on Statistical Power and Sample Size

    Mr. Nathaniel L. Baker and
    Dr. Viswanathan Ramakrishnan
    Medical University of South Carolina

  • SABV and Data Analyses

    Dr. Melissa (Missy) Morrow and Dr. Stacey Winham
    Mayo Clinic

  • Sex influences in biological aging; impact of adversity, sleep disturbances; life course perspective

    Dr. Hadine Joffe
    Harvard Medical School

  • Sex as a Biological Variable in Research: Ethical Considerations

    Dr. Kathleen Brady
    Medical University of South Carolina

Module 4: SABV and Research Reporting

Full transparency in reporting experimental details, data, and results, including sex-specific reporting, ensures that the biomedical community knows to whom the results of your research apply.

In preclinical and clinical work that aims to develop therapeutic interventions, sex-specific reporting is also essential to determining whether benefits or adverse events differ by sex.

  • Module 4 Overview

    Dr. Rebecca DelCarmen-Wiggins
    Module 4 Overview

  • Considering Sex as a Biological Variable: An Editor's Perspective

    Dr. Cristina Ghiani and Dr. J. Paula Warrington
    Journal of Neuroscience Research

  • Communicating Statistical Results by Sex

    Dr. Paul Wakim
    NIH Clinical Center