Project Summary This application is for the 4th cycle of funding for the Colorado Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Research (BIRCWH) K12 program, established in 2007. Over the past 15 years, we have had 21 Scholars in the program, 18 of whom have remained in academic medicine and are funded. Collectively, these Scholars have published over 550 publications since their time in the BIRCWH program (not including abstracts). For our proposed 4th cycle, we will continue to work with our Scholars and their carefully chosen primary mentors in the rich academic environment of the University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus. We will help them form innovative interdisciplinary Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs). Scholars and their entire SACs as well as BIRCWH leadership will meet twice yearly and participate in monthly trainings using an evidence-based curriculum focused on developing academic and career development skills. In addition, learning from our experience in 3 prior cycles of BIRCWH and in addition to our successful ongoing methods, we propose several key program innovations: o The evidence-based curriculum now will also include focus on how to integrate sex and gender into all steps of research from study design to analysis. o Encouraging Scholars to begin working on their individual K award relatively early in the course of their tenure as a BIRCWH Scholar (i.e., 8-9 months after initial BIRCWH Scholar appointment) with strong mentor/SAC/BIRCWH leadership support. o Ongoing interaction for BIRCWH Scholars with their SACs following completion of the BIRCWH Scholar period (through the next academic steps) to extend guidance while also working to establish independence. o Addition of bioinformatics as a cutting edge, cross-cutting tool that will serve to interweave our foci. o Increased biostatistician availability to meet the complex statistical needs of the Scholars. o Addition of a BIRCWH facilitator, Dr. Laura Brown, a successful former BIRCWH Scholar, who will work with Scholars by focusing on research and career development issues including helping them work on their next grants- grants that will help them transition successfully to their post-BIRCWH careers. o A strong focus on working to increase diversity of our BIRCWH Scholars. Our overall goal is to: Support top applicants from a diverse pool of exceptionally motivated and talented individuals, and provide them with an appropriately tailored, top-quality interdisciplinary mentored research and career development experience. The excellent institutional support for the Colorado BIRCWH, with strong focus on women’s health, will also fuel the growth of this important program which aims to develop successful, independent interdisciplinary scientists in women’s health and sex differences research and thereby improve the health of women.