The core academic mission of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences (Ob, Gyn & RS) at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is to promote health and prevent disease in women by developing a well-trained, productive, and diverse cohort of clinician investigators who conduct high impact research. The UCSF WRHR program has been funded since 1998 to recruit outstanding Scholars and provide them with the critical skills and training needed to succeed as independent investigators. Fourteen superb WRHR Scholars have been recruited to the program for mentored career development; 12 have completed the WRHR training and 2 are current scholars. Our WRHR alumni have made major contributions to science including basic and translational discoveries in reproductive health and breakthroughs in clinical research across the broad range of disciplines within Obstetrics and Gynecology. Over the next 5 years, we propose to continue supporting our existing 2 Scholars who have made excellent progress in completing their specific aims, and then will recruit 2 new outstanding Scholars to provide a mentored career development experience. We will build upon our recent successes in improving diversity of the applicant pool and focus our efforts on increasing the number of Scholars from under-presented racial or ethnic minority groups (UIM). We will also focus on new opportunities for Scholars to learn research methods of emerging, cutting-edge scientific fields. To this end, Scholars will be recruited to pursue biomedical (laboratory-based), translational, and/or and clinical research in reproductive science. Two research pathways have been established to guide relatively inexperienced (Track I) and more experienced Scholars (Track II). The Program Aims of the UCSF WRHR are: 1) To recruit and retain a cohort of outstanding, diverse, well-trained women's health research Scholars who aim to advance scientific discoveries in basic, clinical, and translational reproductive sciences 2) To provide Scholars with an individualized plan that provides the necessary didactic training, guided mentorship, and research resources and environment required to successfully create an independent research career in women's health 3) To improve the diversity of women's health research faculty by implementing programs and strategies to attract faculty that are under-represented in medicine (UIM) and provide critical support and resources for UIM Scholars to launch and sustain a research career. 4) To advance women's health and support Scholars by creating and sustaining strong collaborations and programmatic links with institutional partners focused on training and mentoring junior research faculty. At UCSF, we have a robust, thriving, research environment and strong institutional support for career development, coupled with an active and diverse research enterprise within the Department of Ob, Gyn, & RS. These resources and environment enable our WRHR program to thrive and succeed in developing the next generation of independent investigators that advance women's health and wellness.
We propose a 5-year, intensive mentored WRHR Scholar Program at UCSF to develop independent research careers for obstetrician/gynecologists in clinical, translational and basic science women's health research. Such training and career development, embedded in an environment of collaboration and interaction among mentors and Scholars, is a powerful approach to creating the next generation of researchers who will translate the findings from the laboratory and clinic for the betterment of women's health. The overarching goal of our WRHR program is to enhance the pipeline women's health researchers.
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