Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program

The UMN Powell Center for Women’s Health BIRCWH program is an internal K12 grant mechanism from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health that fosters mentored research career development of junior faculty of either gender who are engaged in interdisciplinary women’s health or sex differences research. Research must be relevant to women’s health or sex/gender differences. Programs that address basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, and health services research are encouraged to apply.

The Masonic Cancer Center Women’s Health Scholar is funded through the UMN Masonic Cancer Center to support one researcher whose work focuses on the cancers that occur mainly in women including important gender differences in cancer incidence, presentation, survivorship, treatment, pain, and pathology.

The aim of this training program is to place junior investigators on the path to be competitive for NIH independent K- or R- awards. Support for up to two BIRCWH and one Masonic Cancer Center Women’s Health Scholars will be available during this cycle. Success of the program is judged by the number of trainees who go on to secure independent NIH K-awards and NIH R21 grants in the short term, and NIH R01, and R01 equivalent funding in the long term, for women’s health or sex differences research.

All scholars will partake in the BIRCWH Program requirements with the exception of the annual BIRCWH meeting. The Masonic Cancer Center Women’s Health Scholar is not eligible to attend this annual meeting.

If you are interested in learning more about the BIRCWH program contact Mikow Hang (hangx012@umn.edu) to schedule a meeting with a BIRCWH leadership team member.

_{Grant Sponsors: NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the Office of Research on Women's Health, and the National Institute on Aging
Award Number: 2K12-HD055887-06}

Overview