# UIC Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Program

> **NIH NIH K12** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2022 · $204,978

## Abstract

This Supplement proposes to add an underrepresented Scholar, a physician-scientist of Hispanic origin, to the
UIC BIRCWH program. The Scholar is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the UIC Department of Family and
Community Medicine and leads a program of research focusing on health disparities in cervical cancer. The
Scholar's Primary Mentor is a well-funded Professor of OB/GYN and former BIRCWH PI with a strong track
record of research on women's health, including an ongoing project with the Scholar on health disparities in
cervical cancer screening where they serve as Multi-PIs. The new Scholar will join the current BIRCWH cohort
of three Scholars, including two MDs and a PhD of Hispanic origin. The overall goal of the UIC BIRCWH
Program is to align with the 2019-23 Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for Women's Health Research to “promote
training and careers to develop a well-trained, diverse, and robust workforce to advance science for the health
of women” (NIH ORWH, 2019). Our long-term objective is to promote training and career development of a
new generation of researchers equipped with the knowledge and career skills necessary to advance science
for the health of women in the next decade and beyond. We are based in the UIC College of Medicine, but
draw on the interdisciplinary strengths of UIC's seven health colleges. Our past success directing a BIRCWH
from 2007-2017 fostered the academic careers of 18 Scholars (33% under-represented minorities; URM). We
also have a record of success mentoring in the UIC-funded Women's Health Research (WHR) Associates
Program which supported 8 Scholars (38% URM) and the UIC-funded Bridge Program which supported 3
Scholars. All three programs have received strong institutional support from UIC leadership. The 2019-2024
BIRCWH aims to train 6 junior faculty researchers in women's or sex/gender-based health research: 3 MDs for
3 years and 3 PhDs for 2 years. We capitalize on four program strengths: (1) our success in launching the
careers of 29 junior faculty in women's health research; (2) alignment with the Trans-NIH Strategic Plan for
Women's Health; (3) the highly interdisciplinary nature of the program and integration across UIC and regional
BIRCWH Programs; and (4) the use of evidence-based mentoring practices to prepare scholars to conduct
team science and address barriers facing new female and URM investigators. Our short-term objectives build
upon these strengths through ongoing program activities and several new initiatives. Ongoing activities include:
a) supplementing team mentoring programs with new training and tools, b) optimizing existing and new UIC
partnerships, and c) augmenting our strong didactic curriculum in women's health research. BIRCWH activities
at UIC related to sex and gender influences in health and disease will advance the ORWH goal to accelerate
the translation of knowledge into improved health care for women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10681107
- **Project number:** 3K12HD101373-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** IRINA A BUHIMSCHI
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $204,978
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-05 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10681107

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10681107, UIC Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Program (3K12HD101373-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10681107. Licensed CC0.

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