PROJECT SUMMARY
In this renewal application, we describe an enhanced educational framework for the training, nurturing, and
support of talented University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) faculty scholars poised to embark on research careers in
women’s health across the lifespan. We have built our program on an unparalleled foundation in reproductive
sciences and women’s health research led by Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI). Located at the
center of Pitt’s campus, MWRI is immediately adjacent to Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), one of the nation’s most robust integrated healthcare systems. Our 71
primary MWRI researchers are fully engaged in basic, translational, clinical, health services, and community-
oriented research, supported by Pitt’s six Health Sciences and Engineering Schools. With MWRI as the
programmatic hub of BIRCWH@Pitt, we have markedly strengthened our women’s health network and created
new and exciting investigative nodes within Pitt’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). We
embarked on new initiatives to support and enhance training on social and moral determinants of health in
diverse populations, developed new educational opportunities, strengthened inclusive research within CTSI,
with a vanguard emphasis on women’s health across the lifespan. We have deepened our training in the
incorporation of sex and gender as biological variables and expanded our special enrichment tools, designed
to spark each scholar’s imagination in new inquires and career paths. We have developed innovative tools that
better connect the promise of scientific discoveries with people and communities. Our novel model of
community partnership brings researchers and community members together as allies in the scientific pursuit.
We have taken our engagement of underrepresented minorities to a higher level, at both the trainee and
Advisory Committee level. Together, our innovative platforms enable us to focus on our long-term objectives of
education, intellectual stimulation, hands-on training, intense career development toward academic
independence, promotion of new synergies, and a full realization of collaborative, dynamic, and meaningful
engagement. To accommodate an expected heterogeneity in scholars’ academic backgrounds and career
goals, we have crafted individually tailored development plans of 2–5 years, adjusted to accommodate the
expertise and training of the anticipated five or six scholars. A team of mentors with varied yet complementary
skills is fitted to support each scholar. Resources garnered through our program are shared with other trainees
at MWRI, across Pitt’s Health Sciences Schools, and at the Latinx-abundant Ponce Health Sciences University
in Puerto Rico. Together, BIRCWH@Pitt emphasizes imaginative, inclusive thinking, cross-fertilization, and
collaboration that bridges basic and clinical sciences and serves to propel our scholars to successful careers in
impactful women’s health research.