The Office of Autoimmune Disease Research in the Office of Research on Women’s Health (OADR-ORWH) released a NOSI to highlight interest in receiving applications that seek funding for the support of scientific conferences and workshops that will gather subject matter experts to develop and refine common data elements (CDEs) for autoimmune disease research.
A study co-led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute and recently published in Nature suggests that as some women age, their white blood cells can lose a copy of one of their two X chromosomes. Scientists have identified inherited genetic variants that may predict this phenomenon, which is called “mosaic loss of chromosome X” or “mLOX.” These genetic variants may play a role in promoting the multiplication of abnormal blood cells, which could lead to several health conditions, including cancer.
ORWH, in collaboration with NIH partners and other federal agencies, spearheaded the development of the NIH Policy on Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV) to encourage clinicians and researchers to consider SABV at all stages of the research process. The development of this policy stemmed from an over-reliance on male animals and cells in basic and preclinical biomedical research, which obscures our understanding of the impact an individual’s biological sex can have on health, processes, and outcomes.
The Juneteenth observance commemorates the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas were notified of their freedom and slavery ended in the United States. Juneteenth also serves as a critical reminder to advance racial equity in health care, especially as it relates to women’s health. The racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes for Black women are stark. Black women are approximately three times as likely as White women to die from a pregnancy-related cause, regardless of income or education level.
ORWH is sponsoring a new open-access supplement in Social Science & Medicine on “Gender, power, and health: Modifiable factors and opportunities for intervention” that will expand on conversations from the “2022 Gender and Health: Impacts of Structural Sexism, Gender Norms, Relational Power Dynamics, and Gender Inequities Scientific Workshop.”
The Office of Research on Women’s Health and the Office of AIDS Research, along with 17 institute, center, and office partners, issued a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight interest in receiving intersectional HIV research and training grant applications that explicitly center the health needs of cisgender women and girls and gender-diverse people.
The understudied, underrepresented, and underreported (U3) program was developed in 2017 to draw attention to the lack of biomedical research on persistent disparities and inequities in women’s health care, and to support evidence-based research efforts to address these gaps. The U3 program highlights the intersectional experiences of women, exploring the ways in which socially determined categories, like race or gender, overlap and interact to create differing outcomes for individuals and communities.
ORWH recently launched a new resource titled NIH Fact Sheets on Women’s Health Research, which provides health and disease data on women. The fact sheets include relevant discussions on how sex and gender differences and female-specific considerations may play a role in the health of women.
The Office of Research on Women’s Health recently released the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women 2024–2028, a comprehensive roadmap that will inform NIH-supported research on various diseases and health conditions that affect women.
May 7, 2024
In celebration of 2024 National Women’s Health Week (May 12-18), we recognize and honor the contributions of Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., a remarkable woman leader who has made history in her pursuit of scientific discovery.
April 25, 2024
Congratulations to Elizabeth Barr, Ph.D. on being named Associate Director for Interdisciplinary Research at ORWH.
April 11, 2024
ORWH created the Prize Competition for Enhancing Faculty Gender Diversity: Toolkit to highlight successful strategies and best practices for evidence-based approaches to improve gender diversity across biomedical and behavioral science departments, centers, and divisions.
April 10, 2024
Join ORWH for the 8th Vivian W. Pinn Symposium, held annually during National Women’s Health Week. This year’s event is titled “Synergy in Science: Innovations in Autoimmune Disease Research and Care” and will focus on a convergence of cutting-edge insights and collaborative efforts related to autoimmune diseases.
April 8, 2024
Two new reports from the Pathways to Prevention (P2P) workshop, Identifying Risks and Interventions to Optimize Postpartum Health, are now available!
March 27, 2024
The 60th meeting of the NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health (ACRWH) will be held virtually for the public on April 9, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:35 p.m. EDT.
March 26, 2024
In coordination with the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, ORWH and several NIH institutes and centers issued a Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight interest in receiving research applications focused on diseases and health conditions that predominantly affect women.
March 21, 2024
On March 18, 2024, President Joe Biden signed a new Executive Order (EO) that builds upon the establishment of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.
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.