The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) recently awarded Mayte Restrepo, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.A., the 2024 Science Policy Scholar Travel Award.
March 8, 2024
The most recent edition of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores global women’s health. The feature story describes the progress made as well as some of the remaining challenges for global women’s health, including climate change, clean water access, heat stress, and air pollution. 
March 1, 2024
The Office of Autoimmune Disease Research in the Office of Research on Women’s Health (OADR-ORWH) awarded six researchers for the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): EXposome in Autoimmune Disease Collaborating Teams PLANning (EXACT-PLAN) Awards. This NOSI is a collaborative effort between OADR-ORWH, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices engaged in autoimmune disease research.
February 6, 2024
On January 25, 2024, ORWH celebrated the observance of Women’s Health Research Day, which recognizes the need to increase awareness of sex- and gender-based biomedical research. On this day, we also celebrated the eighth anniversary of the implementation of NIH’s Policy on Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV).
January 25, 2024
ORWH Announces Travel Awards for Two Junior Investigators to Present at The Menopause Society Annual Meeting in Chicago
The Office of Autoimmune Disease Research within the Office of Research on Women’s Health (OADR-ORWH) recently released the Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Input on an NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Autoimmune Disease Research.
ORWH released the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research on the Health of Women of Understudied, Underrepresented and Underreported (U3) Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional).
NIH recently published a full report on its fiscal years (FY) 2021 and 2022 research activities pertaining to the health of women.
The latest issue of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores research on autoimmune diseases in women. The feature story describes seven autoimmune diseases that predominately affect women.
The NIH ORWH and our Institute, Center, and Office partners issued this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight interest in receiving research and training grant applications focused on health impacts of gender-related social and structural variables.
ORWH Announces Science Policy Scholar Travel Award for a Junior Investigator to Present at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences
To ensure accountability to the communities we serve, the NIH ORWH and Office of AIDS Research (OAR) seek comments and input from women with lived experience of HIV, the advocacy and research communities, and others interested in research on HIV and women.
The White House has announced the establishment of the Women’s Health Research Initiative within the Office of the First Lady. The initiative aims to improve women’s health in the United States by accelerating research on the unique health needs of women across their lifespans and therefore fundamentally change how we approach and fund women’s health research.
The NIH Sex and Gender in Health and Disease (SGHD) Scientific Interest Group (SIG) will be hosting a webinar, titled Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV) Policy and Sex-Inclusive Research: Making Progress, Taking Stock, and Visioning the Future on November 30, 2023, from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM EDT.
The 59th meeting of the NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health (ACRWH) will be held virtually on October 18, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT. The meeting will feature a presentation from Dr. Jon Lorsch, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), on NIGMS’s role in supporting women’s health research. 
In partnership with the National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office, ORWH is pleased to announce the five recipients of the new Galvanizing Health Equity Through Novel and Diverse Educational Resources (GENDER) Research Education Program (R25).
September 1, 2023
A special issue of the Journal of Women's Health (JWH) examines the necessity for robust training and support to strengthen the science and research of sex and gender as it relates to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, immune, mental health conditions, and addiction.
The latest issue of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores issues relevant to neuroscientific research. The feature story focuses on sex differences in neurological conditions involving glia, historically understudied cells in the central and peripheral nervous system.
The July 2023 session of Diverse Voices: Intersectionality and the Health of Women, titled “Intersectional Approaches to Substance Use and Misuse,” will feature presentations from Drs. Meyer and Meyers-Pantele. Dr. Meyer will discuss integrated solutions to address HIV and substance use disorders (SUDs) among women involved in carceral systems, and Dr. Meyers-Pantele will explore experiences of intersectional stigma among racially and ethnically diverse women who use drugs.
On April 12, 2023, ORWH Director Janine A. Clayton, M.D., FARVO, announced the establishment of the NIH Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR) during the 58th Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health.
ORWH recently awarded two Science Policy Scholar Travel Awards to support the development of junior investigators focused on women’s health or sex and gender differences who are also interested in research policy. Each recipient received up to $3,000 to cover the costs of attending the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences' (OSSD) annual meeting on May 7-11, 2023, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 
April 10, 2023
The latest issue of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores programs that supports the recruitment, retention, reentry, and sustained advancement of women in biomedical careers. The feature story focuses on NIH programs that support women in biomedical careers including continuity supplements and NIH Loan Repayment programs.
The 58th meeting of the NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health (ACRWH) will be virtual on April 12, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. EDT.
ORWH recently released two Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFO), Understanding Chronic Conditions Understudied Among Women, to support research on chronic conditions that affect women and individuals assigned female at birth. The purpose of the NOFOs are to invite applications on chronic conditions understudied among women and/or that disproportionately affect populations of women who are understudied, underrepresented, and underreported in biomedical Research.
ORWH will host the 7th Annual Vivian W. Pinn Symposium. Held annually during National Women's Health Week, the symposium is ORWH's signature event, honoring the first full-time Director of ORWH. The title of this year’s symposium is “Menopause and Optimizing Midlife Health of Women.”
ORWH and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases recently re-issued a request for applications for an Advancing Gender Inclusive Excellence (AGIE) Coordinating Center. The purpose of the AGIE Coordinating Center is to provide the organizational framework for the management, direction, and overall coordination of all common activities aimed at investigating strategies, approaches, and interventions. This includes promoting gender equity or addressing barriers to gender equity for women, at the faculty and leadership levels in many areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM).
The March 2023 session of Diverse Voices: Intersectionality and the Health of Women titled “Intersectional Stigma and Mental Health,” will feature presentations from Drs. Melissa DuPont-Reyes and Janet Turan.
The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health Human Development (NICHD), National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR), Office of Disease Prevention (ODP), and the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office (SGMRO) published a request for information (RFI), NOT-NR-23-008, to gather public input on priority scientific direction in violence against women (VAW) research
The latest issue of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores disparities and workforce diversity in mental health. The feature story discusses mental health disparities, the lack of diversity in the mental health workforce, and Federal initiatives addressing these issues.
This NOSI announces the availability of administrative supplements to support research testing gender terminology (e.g., woman, man, nonbinary) for measuring current gender identity as part of the two-step method of data collection (sex assigned at birth and current gender identity).
The Gender and Health: Impacts of Structural Sexism, Gender Norms, Relational Power Dynamics, and Gender Inequities workshop is a finalist for the vFairs Eventeer Awards in the “Best Virtual Education Fair” category. The Eventeer Awards showcases the best events hosted on the vFairs platform throughout 2022. Winners of the awards are decided by public voting. 
January 9, 2023
The next session “Cancer Disparities: Methods and Measurement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity” will feature presentations from Drs. Laura Fejerman and Scarlett Lin Gomez.
ORWH is offering two Science Policy Scholar Travel Awards to support the development of junior investigators who are focused on women’s health or sex and gender differences and are also interested in research policy. The travel awards will provide up to $3,000 each to defray the costs of attending the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) Annual Meeting on May 7–11, 2023, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 
ORWH released Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research on the Health of Women of Understudied, Underrepresented and Underreported (U3) Populations (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional).
The latest issue of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores oral health. The feature story discusses sex and gender differences in oral health and NIH efforts to support diversity in the dental, oral, and craniofacial workforce. A guest editorial by Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, D.D.S., Ph.D., Deputy Director of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, discusses oral health disparities.
ORWH will host the 2022 Specialized Centers of Research Excellence on Sex Differences (SCORE) Annual Meeting on November 1, 2022. Cara Tannenbaum, M.D., M.Sc., Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health, will present the keynote address, titled “Next-Generation Sex and Gender Science,” at 10:00 a.m. EDT.
October 11, 2022
The NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health (ACRWH) will meet virtually on October 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT. The meeting will feature presentations from Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and Rick Woychik, Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. There will be a panel discussion titled “Epidemiologic Contribution to Understanding the Environmental Impact on Women’s Health.”
NIH recently announced the launch of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) Tech for Maternal Health Challenge as part of the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, which supports research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and to improve health for women before, during, and after delivery.
ORWH’s Pearls of Wisdom series features Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). In this video clip, Dr. Gibbons talks about leadership and how “your lived experience is a credential.”
September 14, 2022
ORWH, in partnership with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), is launching a pilot program, Team Science Leadership Scholars Program (LSP).
ORWH’s Pearls of Wisdom series features Shannon N. Zenk, Ph.D., M.P.H., RN, FAAN, Director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). In this video clip, Dr. Zenk discusses the qualities of success.
ORWH’s Pearls of Wisdom series features Helene M. Langevin, M.D., Director of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). In this video clip, Dr. Langevin gives advice on pursuing a research career.
ORWH’s Pearls of Wisdom series features Bruce J. Tromberg, Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). In this video clip, Dr. Tromberg discusses the characteristics to look for in a mentor.   
ORWH recently published the report, Perspectives of Advancing NIH Research to Inform and Improve the Health of Women. This report provides background on the public health needs of the three priority topics of MMM, chronic debilitating conditions, and cervical cancer; current NIH activities in women's health research and the three priority topics; research gaps on the health of women; and research opportunities at NIH.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) published a request for information (RFI), NOT-OD-22-186, to solicit input from stakeholders across the scientific research, advocacy, and patient communities, as well as the public, to inform the topics that will be included in the forthcoming NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women.
ORWH’s Pearls of Wisdom series features Noni Byrnes, Ph.D., Director of the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR). In this video clip, Dr. Byrnes advises to be proactive in your job search and “don’t undersell yourself or underestimate yourself.”
ORWH is pleased to announce a new program, Galvanizing Health Equity Through Novel and Diverse Educational Resources (GENDER) R25 (RFA-OD-22-015).
The latest issue of Women’s Health in Focus at NIH explores the menopausal transition, the stage of a woman’s life that generally begins between ages 45 and 55 and ends at menopause, marked by her final menstrual period.
July 8, 2022
ORWH’s Pearls of Wisdom series features Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). In his video clip, Dr. Lorsch discusses how “climbing the ladder” is a potential barrier to advancement.
The Pearls of Wisdom series features Debara L. Tucci, M.D., M.S., M.B.A., Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). In this Pearls of Wisdom video clip, Dr. Tucci talks about how to stay motivated.