# Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (K12)

> **NIH NIH K12** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $540,786

## Abstract

7. Project Summary/Abstract
Duke University and North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a historically Black institution, are applying for
competitive renewal of our BIRCWH program. The Duke/NCCU BIRCWH is a strong, vibrant program that has
the leadership and institutional commitment required for continued success. Our partnership, now in its 20th
year, provides the foundation for a program that encompasses interdisciplinary research, structured mentoring,
and individualized career development for junior faculty, with three major goals: (1) Develop highly skilled,
innovative researchers who use interdisciplinary approaches to investigate women’s health and sex/gender
influences across the lifespan; (2) Foster diversity in women’s health research and advance health disparities
research affecting women’s health by identifying and recruiting scholars from diverse backgrounds and (3)
Enable and equip BIRCWH scholars to lead interdisciplinary teams of scientists, and to become the mentors
and leaders of the future. We have supported 24 BIRCWH scholars from a wide range of personal, scientific,
and academic backgrounds, and 21% have been from groups underrepresented in medicine (URiM). We plan
to continue to support three junior faculty members at a time, including one from a URiM group. Drawing on the
breadth and depth of expertise at our two universities, we have the capacity to advance the career
development of scholars interested in basic, clinical, or health services research across a broad range of
fields. Taking advantage of synergy between our expert advisors, supportive leadership, and experienced
BIRCWH mentors (27 disciplines, 46% women, 25% URiM), our scholars learn to integrate approaches to focus
on women’s health and sex/gender differences in human disease. Scholars’ interdisciplinary mentoring teams
invariably include a mentor from our core group of nationally known senior investigators from Duke and NCCU,
with others added to maximize interdisciplinary expertise and collaborations. Our program spans two to five
years, depending on each scholar’s career development needs, and consists of intense, hands-on research;
didactic course work; and training in grant writing, health disparities, team science, SABV and RCR. Each
scholar's progress is monitored by the Leadership Team and the Internal Advisory Committee (IAC). The
program is assessed and advised by the IAC and an External Advisory Committee. At the completion of the
program, scholars will have published results in peer-reviewed journals, obtained funding as a PI, and
become leaders and mentors themselves. Our alumni scholars have been promoted to full Professor (32%),
obtained federal funding (68%) and advanced into leadership positions including academic Vice Chairs, Vice
Deans, Associate Vice Provost, and Associate Vice President for Research. External evaluations of our
program and scholars are performed by an independent evaluator in the Duke Social Science Research
Institute...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10427750
- **Project number:** 2K12HD043446-21
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Cindy Amundsen
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $540,786
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2002-09-26 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10427750

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10427750, Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (K12) (2K12HD043446-21). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-02 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10427750. Licensed CC0.

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