The proposed Tulane BIRCWH program is dedicated to promoting Women's Health research and the subsequent transfer of findings. In order to improve the quality and increase the quantity of Women's Health research, Tulane BIRCWH proposes to bridge the period between advanced training and research independence, as well as link professions, scientific disciplines, and areas of interest for selected scholars. The common theme running throughout the various research areas is patient-oriented research on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hypertension among women, particularly among African American women. The need to address women's cardiovascular health in Louisiana is dire, particularly in Orleans parish where the population is predominantly African American, an extremely high-risk sub-population according to local and national data. Tulane BIRCWH foci will include research that is basic, translational, clinical, and health behavioral and health services that pertain to CVD and hypertension in women. The proposed program will be housed within the Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women's Health (TUXCOE), one of only 14 National Centers of Excellence under the Office of Women's Health, Department of Health and Human Services. The Tulane BIRCWH will therefore enhance the existing collaboration with Xavier University, the only historically Black Catholic College and University in United States, by providing an interdisciplinary research training opportunity to Junior Faculty within both institutions. The administrative structure of Tulane BIRCWH comprises a Principal Investigator (Pt), a Co-Principal Investigator (Co- PI), and an Advisory Committee. Paul Whelton, MD, MSc, Senior Vice President of TUHSC, serves as the PI; and Jeanette H. Magnus, MD, PhD, Director of the Tulane Xavier National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, as the Co-PI. Dr. Magnus will serve as both Co-PI and Program Director (PD) for the Tulane BIRCWH. Drs. Whelton and Magnus contribute vast and pertinent experience in the areas of Women's Health, cardiovascular disease, mentoring programs, as well as interdisciplinary programs. The Tulane BIRCWH Advisory Committee members, all of whom represent a wide array of TUHSC leadership and research expertise, will greatly complement the PI and Co-PI/PD in ensuring Tulane BIRCWH's future programmatic success and impact. Additionally, an entire team of proposed mentors will provide the trainees with access to established research programs with a broad range of basic and applied biomedical and behavioral science and health services research, and across the schools within the TUHSC. In addition to the existing Tulane GCRC, a proposed Women's Health Resource Laboratory (WHRL) will complement these highly qualified and dedicated administrators and mentors in bridging the gap between the completion of training and an independent career in research addressing Women's Health for the IWHR Scholars. Tulane BIRCWH's deliberate breadth and dynamism ensures that the program team, including the collaborating departments, centers and institutes, form the inter-professional, intellectual and technical research base necessary to provide the fundamental training needed to produce the high caliber Women's Health researchers the program seeks to generate.
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