About the Division of Women’s Health

The Division of Women’s Health works to advance the knowledge and understanding of women’s health and sex differences in health and disease; to create and support interdisciplinary collaborations in clinical care, research, and education; and to work with faculty and leadership from other divisions and departments at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to advance the health of women.

The Division of Women’s Health engages in scientific discovery pertaining to the health of women and to sex and gender differences in health and disease, and to translate sex-based research into clinical care. The division is building upon its experience developing integrated models of care and multidisciplinary research in women's health to advance the hospital’s goals of cutting-edge innovation and discovery, to provide seamless, high-quality, and affordable patient-centered care, and to develop the next generation of leaders in medicine.

Leadership

Dr. Kathryn Rexrode began as Chief of the Division of Women's Health in July 2017. Dr. Rexrode was trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in internal medicine, completed an epidemiology research fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and completed a Master of Public Health degree at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She maintains appointments in the Division of Preventive Medicine and Division of General Internal Medicine, is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is the director for the Office for Women’s Careers in the Center Diversity and Inclusion, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She sees patients in the Gretchen S. and Edward A. Fish Center for Women’s Health as a primary care physician and has held numerous local and national leadership positions in research, education and faculty development.

Dr. Rexrode’s research focuses on risk factors for heart disease and stroke in women. She is the author of the textbook Women and Health, more than 220 peer-reviewed publications, and leads several NIH funded grants.

Gretchen S. and Edward A. Fish Center for Women’s Health

The Gretchen S. and Edward A. Fish Center for Women’s Health (Fish Center) is a leading and innovative source for women’s healthcare, utilizing an interdisciplinary model of care within an academic medical center. The Fish Center encompasses 12 specialties (internal medicine, gynecology, cardiology, endocrinology including diabetes, gastroenterology, infectious disease, rheumatology, nephrology, neurology, dermatology, psychiatry, and nutrition) with more than 90 physicians, providers, and staff. In addition, the Fish Center has nine to twelve internal medicine residents per year and serves as a training site for fellows in gastroenterology, neurology, and mental health. To support this model, the Fish Center develops opportunities for interdisciplinary research, clinical care, patient education, and physician and staff training that build upon the clinical and research interests of faculty, the needs of patients, and the unique possibilities for collaboration across specialties.

Women’s Health Research

The Division of Women’s Health’s research goals are: to lead scientific and clinical discoveries that identify and explain sex- and gender-based differences in health and disease, prioritize disorders specific to women, and ultimately improve the overall health and access to care for women and men.

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