Women’s Health Research
About the Division of Women’s Health Research
The division of women’s health research promotes research across the spectrum of women’s health from basic science to translational studies.
Our team encompasses basic science researchers with an interest in questions related to ovarian function, hormone action, inflammatory responses, and endocrine disrupting chemicals. Researchers also address epidemiological-based problems related to the health effects of partner violence and sexual violence from areas such as intimate partner violence, dating and sexual violence, and violence and health outcomes.
We represent a group of professionals with special interests within our field that have historically been extramurally supported by federal funding agencies such as NIH and CDC and have published in highly regarded medical and research journals.
Signature Programs
Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls
Our federally funded research team focuses on preventing or reducing the impact of violence disproportionately affecting women and girls, including Intimate partner violence, sexual violence and harassment, child abuse, child neglect, and sex trafficking. We also explore and seek to mitigate the impact of violence on women’s physical and mental health.
In our violence prevention research, we prioritize using rigorous study designs with sufficient power to detect meaningful reductions in violence victimization and perpetration in educational, health care, and community settings.
Ovarian Function
Four NIH-funded laboratories focus on common yet diverse aspects of ovarian physiology. Studies address questions related to gene regulation, immune responses, novel ovarian proteins, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These studies use a variety of approaches, from rodent to human models employing cell, tissue, and whole ovary samples incorporating molecular and cellular methodologies.
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)
The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) has been a cornerstone for training young faculty in women’s health issues for over 20 years. In 1999, the UK College of Medicine was awarded a five-year $2.5 million NIH grant to develop and implement the BIRCWH training program.
Awarded through the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health, the program provides career development and mentoring opportunities for early career MD and PhD faculty members interested in establishing research careers related to women's health. It has become exemplary in its mentoring and training of young faculty.
The BIRCWH program has been competitively renewed four times, growing to engage investigators across the UK campus interested in women’s health or sex differences in health research.
