# Kentucky BIRCWH Program:  Training the Next Generation of Women's Health Researchers

> **NIH NIH K12** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2021 · $539,656

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The BIRCWH Program at the University of Kentucky (UK) is built around three pillars:
interdisciplinary research, mentoring, and career development. We will continue to provide the
formal framework through which experienced faculty members who share common interests in
women's health will offer mentoring to provide in-depth research experiences and didactic
training to junior faculty members. Our goal is to provide UK BIRCWH scholars with
opportunities for an interdisciplinary, mentored career development experience to facilitate
their transition to become independent, extramurally funded investigators in women's health
research. We choose to focus our scholarship efforts on those health challenges prevalent to
Appalachian Kentucky. Because the Appalachian region is disproportionately affected by drug
abuse, violence, and poor health, we will actively engage women living in Appalachian Kentucky
in our research agenda with research flowing bidirectionally between communities and
researchers. This approach will continue to provide our BIRCWH scholars with state-of-the-art
multidisciplinary training leading to their development as faculty with independent NIH and
extramural funding. The focused areas targeted towards improving women's health in this
application include: 1) substance abuse, 2) violence against women, and 3) changes across a
woman's lifespan. Through this BIRCWH program, strengthening the capacity for women's
health research will be accomplished by the following Aims: 1) to provide the environment,
mentorship, and facilities to enhance the ability of BIRCWH scholars to compete for NIH
research grants in diverse areas of women's health research, 2) to deepen our understanding of
the unique role of gender in the manifestation of health and disease, 3) to develop and
implement new communication and social networking technologies to address women's health,
4) to personalize prevention, diagnostics, and therapeutics to address health disparities among
women such as substance abuse and violence, 5) to stimulate new collaborations in focused,
interdisciplinary, and interactive research areas that are essential for improving women's
health; and 6) to use a thematic multidisciplinary focus as a platform for enhancing
translational research between basic, clinical and public health scientists. The foundation of the
BIRCWH program will continue to be practical research experiences within interdisciplinary
teams guided by experienced mentors. As evident by the success of our former BIRCWH
scholars, we are well positioned to continue the tradition of excellence in mentoring our scholars
to become independent researchers in women's health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10224151
- **Project number:** 5K12DA035150-10
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** Thomas E Curry
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $539,656
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2012-08-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10224151

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10224151, Kentucky BIRCWH Program:  Training the Next Generation of Women's Health Researchers (5K12DA035150-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10224151. Licensed CC0.

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