Research Opportunities

Hormones and Genes in Women's Health: From Bench to Bedside (BIRCWH)

Jill M. Goldstein, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Ursula Kaiser, M.D., Program Director

Women and men are at different risks for the onset, expression, course and treatment response for a number of disorders that occur at different stages of development and throughout the aging process. The mechanisms that explain many of these sex differences or disorders specific to women are still unclear. The mission of this BIRCWH program is to develop the next generation of scientists and scientist-clinicians as leaders in the field of women's health who will contribute to understanding sex-specific vulnerabilities to major medical and psychiatric disorders and disorders specific to women. The training is based on a translational approach and is modeled in the context of a lifespan perspective to identify etiologic mechanisms during fetal development, puberty, adulthood, and aging, with some focus on periods specific to women such as child-bearing, perimenopause and menopause. Further, our underlying assumption is that understanding the roles of hormones and genes will provide the basis for understanding sex-specific vulnerabilities to clinical disorders.

The Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the home site for this endeavor, in the broader context of a Harvard Medical School (HMS) and School of Public Health (HSPH)-wide training program.Investigators participating in this program are collaborating across institutions including BWH, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Beth Israel-Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), McLean Hospital, and HSPH, in tandem with the infrastructure built at the Connors Center to facilitate interdisciplinary research. The Program will make available research and academic mentors at these institutions and a vast array of biomedical resources in the Harvard-affiliated system that will be used to address scientific questions essential to improving women's health.

This training program focuses on the following disorders, given either the known higher incidence in women than in men or the known differential expression of the disorder in women as well as the strengths of the Harvard community in these areas of women's health: Cardiovascular Disorders (including diabetes and obesity); Reproductive Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Disorders; Neuropsychiatric Disorders (e.g., mood and substance use disorders); Autoimmune Disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis); and Female Cancers (e.g., breast, ovarian and uterine). Socio-environmental factors modulating the impact of hormones and genes in understanding these sex-specific vulnerabilities may also be investigated, including in a Health Disparities track.

This training program accepts applications every few years from potential Scholars for a full-time or part-time faculty position for a MD or PhD/ScD to develop an academic career in women's health. The next deadline to apply is August 1, 2012. Successful applicants will have prior relevant research training in research methodology, potential to obtain independent research funding, and evidence of publication in peer-reviewed journals. Faculty appointments will be at the Instructor or Assistant Professor level, commensurate with qualifications. Applications from women and minorities are highly encouraged and desired. To apply for this program, please see requirements listed below. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or noncitizen nationals, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.