Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health at UC Davis

In the past 19 years, the UC Davis BIRCWH program has trained a sizeable, diverse group of interdisciplinary researchers in women's health and sex differences, elevating the prominence of this research. Building on this strong foundation, our next-generation BIRCWH program, led by Dr. Nancy Lane, will enhance innovation and impact. We aim to foster an academically stimulating environment that promotes career development and encourages paradigm-shifting, interdisciplinary collaboration, and team science to advance research in women’s health and sex disparities. Our short-term BIRCWH objectives are to: 1) provide indepth, individualized training and team-based interdisciplinary mentoring to support the independent career development of scholars in interdisciplinary women’s health and sex differences research; and 2) advance and achieve high-impact research in women’s health by establishing cross-disciplinary collaborations with UC Davis schools that advance science and health. Our long-term objectives, in concert with the ORWH 2024-2028 strategic plan, are to: 1) improve women’s health by enhancing understanding of the unique aspects of female sex and translating this knowledge to inform clinical practice; 2) develop transformative interdisciplinary team science for women’s health research and sex differences; and 3) train a diverse group of leaders in interdisciplinary women’s health and sex differences research. To accomplish our objectives, BIRCWH scholars will participate in: 1) team-based, interdisciplinary mentored research and career development activities; 2) core courses on study design, grant writing, biostatistics, team science and responsible conduct of research; 3) courses tailored to each scholars’ needs and interests including K award and R01 grant writing courses; 4) team-based interdisciplinary research; 5) integrated journal clubs; 6) monthly meetings with the PI and RDs to discuss research and career progress; 7) a biannual symposium of Northern California BIRCWH programs; and 8) the School of Medicine (SOM) Mentoring Academy, for mentors and scholars to be trained in skills to optimize mentoring experiences; 9) Office of Research in Women’s Health zoom seminars on women’s health and career development. Our program will leverage campus expertise in four research areas: neuroscience/pediatric neurodevelopment/ behavior; metabolic/inflammatory/nutrition-related syndromes; musculoskeletal diseases and aging disorders; and cancer/pain. These areas will be addressed through our BIRCWH crosscutting themes: 1) a lifespan approach to understanding normal development, illness/disease, and aging; 2) sex differences and 3) interdisciplinary research. This K12 program will fund four scholars and we have funding commitment from the SOM for a fifth scholar. All BIRCWH scholars must be junior faculty within six years of their terminal degree and must engage in interdisciplinary women’s health and/or sex differences, team science-based research and create an independent development plan for their pathway to independence.