# UCSF-Kaiser Department of Research Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program

> **NIH NIH K12** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2024 · $325,591

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This administrative supplement proposes K12 and postdoctoral scholar funding for the University of California,
San Francisco (UCSF) and Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Division of Research’s Building
Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Program. Program objectives are to:
1. Recruit a superb and diverse group of early-career women’s health researchers;
2. Provide tailored training and mentoring on sex and gender influences in health and disease;
3. Build upon our existing program by targeting topics in women’s health of public health importance;
4. Strengthen and integrate models of interdisciplinary research to develop researchers who foster
 linkages across disciplines and institutions and excel in building team science; and to
5. Promote the prominence of women’s health and the retention of investigators underrepresented in
 clinical research by mentoring BIRCWH scholars and alumni in academic advancement and leadership.
The rationale of our program is that scholars’ successful careers in women’s health will transform biomedical
research and ultimately advance women’s health and improve health equity in the US through sustained focus
on the study of sex and gender influences in health and disease. The program brings together mentors and
advisors from 16 UCSF departments and centers and from KPNC and emphasizes interdisciplinary
approaches to a wide range of women’s health issues. We will continue the program’s initiatives in path-
breaking research in women’s cancers; environmental health; mental health, addiction, and cognition;
infectious diseases; metabolism and bone health; and reproductive health across the lifespan. A UCSF/KPNC
Advisory Committee oversees the program in partnership with leadership, along with newly appointed external
advisory members for greater outreach to underrepresented scholars. Our program is strengthened by
mentoring teams that cross disciplines and with our newly offered training in mentoring across differences.
Diverse scholars and faculty—in terms of fields of interest, background, training, race/ethnicity, and gender—
are a priority. We connect scholars to a network of our BIRCWH scholars and alumni, including investigators
underrepresented in medicine for ongoing peer and mentor support. Our BIRCWH scholars receive tailored
mentoring, and participate in training courses, program seminars, progress assessments, and leadership
development activities. An array of career development and training opportunities at the UCSF Clinical and
Translational Science Institute (CTSI) support our BIRCWH program. The career development path for each
scholar is tailored to the specific experience and mentoring that will most effectively support transition to
independence. Our program evaluation follows a conceptual framework of important domains to scholar career
development, with survey measures that assess scholar outcomes such as career trajectory, scientific
productivity, and B...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11177288
- **Project number:** 3K12AR084219-26S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** CLAIRE D. BRINDIS
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $325,591
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2024-09-16 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11177288

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11177288, UCSF-Kaiser Department of Research Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program (3K12AR084219-26S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11177288. Licensed CC0.

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