The long-term goal of the WRHR Career Development (WRHR) Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is to continue to foster and develop an outstanding mentored research training program for Obstetricians and Gynecologists and to prepare our WRHR Scholars to become successful independent investigators in women's health research. Since it has been first funded in 2005, our WRHR Program has made major strides in attaining this goal. We have met all of our WRHR benchmarks having successfully trained 8 female Scholars (1 Hispanic and 1 African American) who have published over 231 peer-reviewed manuscripts and have received over 63 grant awards as PI including 17 from NIH across 6 Institutes (NICHD, NHLBI, NIMH, NIMHD, NCI, and NIA). The Department of Ob/Gyn will continue to coordinate and administer the WRHR Program and optimize the leverage of the scientific wealth and robust reproductive research infrastructure at Northwestern. The key leadership at Northwestern continues to make strong institutional commitments to this WRHR Program. Serdar Bulun, MD, the original Program Director is now the Chair of the Department of Ob/Gyn and PI of this WRHR renewal. Melissa Simon, MD MPH, the Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department is one of our highly successful original WRHR Scholars and is the Research Director. The Blue Ridge Institute ranks our Department as the third highest for Ob/Gyn NIH funding in the U.S. Amongst all U.S. Ob/Gyn Department faculty members, 5 of our 21 named mentors on this application are in the top 50 in NIH funding (Drs. Bulun, Simon, Woodruff, Peaceman, and Grobman). Having the second largest Ob/Gyn residency program in the U.S., we have a large and active pool of candidates for WRHR Scholar selection as we attract the best and brightest residents and fellows. Our WRHR Scholars have an opportunity to choose between highly competitive clinical research teams or basic and translational science laboratories conducting research in the areas of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Oncofertility, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Gynecologic Oncology, Reproductive Genetics, Family Planning and Contraception, and Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery. Research methodologies and approaches span a world class group of mentors and collaborators with areas of expertise ranging from cutting edge basic and translational techniques to clinical trial and behavioral intervention specialists, psychometricians, biostatisticians, and experts in a wide range of biomarkers, bio-behavioral and social science research approaches. The WRHR Scholars will interact with several Department, Medical School and University wide Institutes and Centers including the Center for Reproductive Science, Institute for Women's Health Research, Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute and the Institute for Public Health and Medicine which are home to large scale center and multi-site grants in focused Ob/Gyn areas.
There continues to be a severe shortage of physician scientists who hail from the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology, yet there is a growing number of pressing health issues among women that would greatly benefit from targeted investigation. During the first 2 funding periods of the Northwestern University WRHR Program, since 2005, we have successfully developed and fostered the growth of an outstanding mentored career development program highly conducive to transition Obstetricians and Gynecologists to become independent investigators. Here, we continue to build on our successes and strive to continue and improve this Program.
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