
BIRCWH – K12 Institutional Career Development Program
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health
Welcome, new BIRCWH scholars!
Announcements
About the BIRCWH Program
The Duke University School of Medicine and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) are recipients of a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) grant. The BIRCWH program is led by the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), along with nearly a dozen other NIH Institutes and Centers. The BIRCWH is a K12 Institutional Training Grant that provides junior faculty at Duke or NCCU 75% salary support (50% for surgical specialties) for up to $100,000 per year for a minimum of two years. The program provides research development support to pursue research careers related to women's health and builds upon existing interdisciplinary faculty relationships to foster productive and innovative collaborations.
In 2022, our 5-year renewal was awarded, which will lead to 25 years of continued funding for the BIRCWH program.
Purpose
The purpose of the BIRCWH Faculty Development Program is to promote the career development of junior faculty pursuing interdisciplinary basic, translational, behavioral, clinical, and/or health services research relevant to the health of women and, where appropriate, the use of both sexes to better understand the influence of sex as a biological variable on health and disease.
The BIRCWH also aims to strengthen the Women’s Health Research enterprise at Duke and NCCU. The BIRCWH Program provides advanced training, mentoring and career guidance. BIRCWH research spans the entire spectrum of Women’s Health topics, and the program is open to all types of clinicians and non-clinicians.
Applications
We invite junior faculty from NCCU and Duke to apply. Fellows and post-docs may apply with a letter from their chair stating that by the first date of their award they will have a faculty appointment, which is not contingent on their receipt of BIRCWH funding. Please contact us early to discuss your eligibility, project, and mentors.
Applicants from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, or from a disadvantaged background as defined by NIH’s NOT-OD-20-031, are encouraged to apply. Applicants can be associated with any department and should be pursuing a research career related to women’s health or sex/gender differences.
A Letter of Intent is required. We will contact you to let you know if you are eligible to apply. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Program Contacts, Leadership and Staff

Principal Investigator / Program Director
Cindy Amundsen, MD
Scholars@Duke Bio

Site-PI North Carolina Central University
Nina Smith, PhD
NCCU Bio

Program Coordinator
Friederike Jayes, DVM, PhD
Scholars@Duke Bio

Career Development Program Specialist
Rebecca Kameny, PhD
Scholars@Duke Bio
Please forward any questions to Dr. Jayes, BIRCWH Program Coordinator.
BIRCWH Advisory Committee BIRCWH Mentors BIRCWH Scholars
Looking for other funding opportunities? Search Duke's Research Funding Database.
Online Courses and Workshops
NIH All About Grants Podcast – Sex As a Biological Variable
Sex as a Biological Variable: A Primer
Introduction: Sex- and Gender-Related Differences in Health
Bench to Bedside: Integrating Sex and Gender to Improve Human Health Course
BIRCWH Leadership Webinar Series