Among the faculty at the University of Kansas are a group of very talented scientists pursuing women's health research in the Schools of Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Engineering. The existence of this talented research base in women's health ignited the interest of our leadership and resulted in a successful application for a University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) BIRCWH Faculty Development Program (2005-2010) to formally establish and strengthen the women's health research enterprise at the University of Kansas. All four Schools and others on the main campus are partners in this proposed renewal. Interdisciplinary research among Schools is strongly emphasized. The KUMC Schools of Allied Health and Nursing are strong partners with Medicine and Pharmacy, ranking 12 and 31 in the nation for NIH funding, respectively. Mentors are In five thematic areas related to women's health: (i) Women's Reproductive Health;(ii) Maternal Health;(iii) Pathogenesis of Diseases Prevalent in Women;(iv) Drug Design, Drug Delivery, and Pharmacogenomics;and (v) Prevention, Intervention, and Health Disparities. After the grant was funded, the KUMC BIRCWH K12 program provided advanced training and career guidance for 10 junior faculty members pursuing interdisciplinary research in women's health. Four years into the funded project, 7 IWHR Scholars have received extramural funding and at least 11 junior level (assistant professor) faculty members have been hired in tenure-track positions pursuing women's health research at the University of Kansas. Our long term objective is to foster career development of junior faculty pursuing basic, translational, behavioral, clinical and health services research relevant to women's health at the University of Kansas. In addition, interactions of mentors from multiple disciplines occurring during training of IWHR Scholars has fostered new research collaborations related to women's health among established faculty and heightened awareness of the need for women's health research at our institution. Successful renewal of the KUMC BIRCWH K12 Program will continue to positively impact the pursuit of women's health research in Kansas.
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