There is a demonstrated need to increase the number of exceptional researchers in women's health and
sex/gender differences to better understand basic mechanisms of disease and develop treatment that
addresses the heterogeneity of treatment effects by sex. The Tufts University Building Interdisciplinary
Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Scholars Program proposes the continuation of a model
program to recruit, select, and train early career faculty to conduct basic research in sex/gender differences
and clinical and health services research on women's health issues. The long term goals of the Tufts BIRCWH
Program are to develop the next generation of leaders in research in sex/gender differences and women’s
health. The Program will fund faculty within six years of their training. We will fund two types of trainees, Basic
Science Scholars and Clinical Scholars, who have completed their doctoral training but require more in depth
interdisciplinary research training. The Program will achieve its goals through five key activities, tailored to
meet each Scholar’s training needs: 1) interdisciplinary mentoring teams, 2) formal research training including
courses at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 3) interdisciplinary research seminars, 4) a mentored
research project, and 5) development of skills in grant proposal preparation. The Tufts BIRCWH Program will
promote all stages of translational research from basic science in sex/gender differences to clinical and
outcomes research focusing on several important questions in the care of women: a) discovery of sex
differences, b) health equity in disease prevention, management, and outcomes, c) nutrition science, d)
women’s cardiovascular health, and e) maternal health and impact on the life course. We propose to fund
three scholars annually, with initial appointments of two years with an option to be considered for a third year.