Program seeks Council approval for a recurring initiative entitled the Women’s Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) Career Development Program. This program provides an intensive, mentored research experience to trainees, termed Scholars, who have recently completed postgraduate clinical training in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN). Scholars may pursue basic, translational and/or clinical research projects in any scientific area relevant to general OB/GYN or its subspecialties.
Despite the many clinical and public health issues that affect women and their newborns, obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) departments remain underrepresented in NIH research programs, only receiving 0.6% of research funding compared with 19.2% and 19.3% for internal medicine and pediatrics departments, respectively. The goal of this initiative is to continue to support the transition of OB/GYN investigators as they transition to successful independent scientific careers, thereby strengthening the national capacity of investigators in reproductive research and ultimately improving women’s health.
The institutions which have participated in the WRHR Programs have become and, with ongoing support, will continue to be national incubator environments for development of independent researchers able to sustain research careers and mentor those that follow them.
The proposed initiative aligns with the Task Force on NICHD Training and Career Development Programs which concluded that “such programs were important to keeping physician-scientists in the biomedical research workforce” and that the critical need for these programs was “especially true for certain demanding clinical sub-specialties.
Program Contact
Lisa Halvorson
Gynecologic Health and Disease Branch
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