Women's Reproductive Health Research

ABSTRACT The core academic mission of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco is to promote health and prevent disease in women by developing a welltrained, productive cohort of clinician investigators who will conduct high impact basic science and clinical research, discover practice-changing innovations, and ultimately become leaders in the field who continue to train the next generations. The UCSF WRHR program has been funded since 1998 and has recruited exceptional trainees and provided them with the critical skills and training to succeed as independent investigators. Sixteen superb WRHR trainees have been recruited to the program; 14 have completed training and 2 are current trainees. Our WRHR alumni have made major contributions to science including basic and translational discoveries in reproductive health and breakthroughs in clinical research across the broad range of disciplines within Obstetrics and Gynecology. Over the next 5 years, we propose to continue supporting our existing 2 trainees who have made excellent progress and show enormous potential, and then recruit 2 new outstanding trainees to the program. To this end, trainees with particular research areas of focus and clinical specialties will be recruited to pursue biomedical (laboratory-based), translational, and/or clinical research in reproductive sciences. We will focus on opportunities for trainees to learn about core research methods as well as emerging, cutting-edge scientific fields. Two research development pathways (RDPs) have been established to guide trainees in need of additional formal research education (RDP I) and trainees who are more experienced at entry into the program (RDP II). The Program Aims of the UCSF WRHR are: 1) To recruit and retain a cohort of outstanding, well-trained reproductive and women’s health researchers who will advance scientific discoveries in basic, clinical, and translational sciences; 2) To provide trainees with an individualized plan that provides the necessary didactic training, guided research and career mentorship, and resources and environment required to successfully transition to an independent researcher; 3) To support trainees by creating and sustaining strong collaborations and programmatic links with institutional partners focused on training and mentoring junior research faculty. Our extensive resources, dedicated mentors, supportive environment, and >25 years of experience enable our WRHR program to thrive and continue to succeed in developing the next generation of independent investigators that advance reproductive and women’s health and wellness.