Women’s Health Research Symposium

[Held virtually due to weather] The 2025 Women’s Health Symposium featured BIRCWH scholar presentations, poster sessions, and an interactive session, “Navigating the bumps along your research path” — led by our invited speakers Dr. Sharonne Hayes (Mayo Clinic) and Dr. Cynthia Kuhn (Duke). After a quick pivot from in-person to zoom due to inclement weather, we were pleased to host 95 attendees from various institutions including Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, NC Central, and Durham Tech Community College. We also welcomed guests from Blue Cross, NC and NC DHHS. Attendees came from a wide range of departmental backgrounds, including obstetrics & gynecology, biomedical sciences, infectious diseases, medicine, pharmacology, psychiatry, and social work. Those in attendance comprised of 28% senior-level faculty, 25% junior-level faculty, and 28% current students (undergraduate, graduate, and medical). There were 30 posters presented by our guests during the breakout poster sessions.

Selected Recordings

Sharonne Hayes, MD - Mayo Clinic, Rochester: Vive la Différence: Sex-Based Cardiovascular Research Saves Lives

Cynthia Kuhn, PhD - Duke University: Sex Differences in Health: How to Stumble Down a Rabbit Hole

Program Booklet

On Feb. 23, 2024, faculty, fellows, postdocs, students and staff interested in women’s health research gathered in the Trent Semans Center Great Hall at Duke University for the Women’s Health & Career Development Symposium. This annual symposium is sponsored by BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health, a K12 Institutional Career Development Program.

The event featured invited speakers, scholar presentations, a poster showcase, and an interactive “Pitching Your Science” session led by Johnna Frierson. We were pleased to welcome 90 attendees (almost double the number from 2023) representing nine institutions, including Duke, UNC, NC Central, Yale and Wake Forest. There was a broad range of career levels; 28% senior-level; 28% graduate, undergraduate or medical students; and 28% early career faculty. Attendees were from a broad range of departments, including biostatistics, public health, surgery, nursing, community health and social work, illustrating the multidisciplinary nature of women’s health research.

Selected Recordings

Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH – BIRCWH Alumna (2019) Yale School of Medicine: Standing on the Shoulders of (Little) Giants: Academic Success in Health Services Research Through Mentorship & Collaboration

Chad Grotegut, MBA, MD – BIRCWH Alumnus (2012) Wake Forest University:  Mechanisms of Uterine Contractility and the Development of a Physician-Scientist-Administrator

 Agenda

• 12:00 Welcome & Introductions
• 12:10 Invited Presentation
  • Rachel Greenup, MD, MPH – BIRCWH Alumna (2019) Yale School of Medicine: Standing on the Shoulders of (Little) Giants: Academic Success in Health Services Research Through Mentorship & Collaboration
  • Q and A
• 12:40 Scholar Presentations
  • 12:40 Audrey Blewer, PhD, MPH - Sex Disparities in Receipt of Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
  • 1:00 Binita Chakraborty, PhD - Targeting Estrogen Receptor Signaling in Tumor Associated Myeloid Cells to Enhance Anti-tumor Immunity
• 1:20 Alumni Introductions
• 1:25 Break & Posters
• 1:45 Scholar Presentations
  • 1:45 Tarannum Jaleel, MD, MHSc - Relationship between Hormones and Skin Inflammation: Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Women
  • 2:05 Charity Watkins, PhD - Severe Maternal Morbidity & Racial Bias: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Psychosocial Effects of Pregnancy-related Cardiovascular Disease among Black Women
  • 2:25 Jennifer Plichta, MD, MS - Staging for De Novo Metastatic Breast Cancer: Can Genomic Data Make it Better?
• 2:45 Invited Presentation
  • Chad Grotegut, MBA, MD – BIRCWH Alumnus (2012) Wake Forest University:  Mechanisms of Uterine Contractility and the Development of a Physician-Scientist-Administrator
  • Q and A
• 3:20 Break & Posters
  • Group photo (scholars, alumni, mentors, Advisory Committee)
• 3:45 Interactive Session: Communicating Your Science and Perfecting Your Pitch
  • Johnna Frierson, PhD 
    • Dr. Frierson will facilitate this interactive session. After a brief presentation on the nuts and bolts of the pitch, participants will prep and then practice their pitch in small groups.
• 4:55 Closing Remarks

2022 Symposium (2/18/2022)

• Welcome and Scholar Presentations
  • Andrea Knittel, MD, PhD, FACOG (UNC WRHR)
    
  • Katelyn Holliday, PhD (Duke BIRCWH)
  • Chemtai Mungo, MD, MPH (UNC WRHR)
  • Rebecca Previs, MD (Duke WRHR)
  • Jamila Minga, PhD, CCC-SLP (Duke BIRCWH)
  • Jonas Swartz, MD (Duke WRHR)
• Panel Discussion: Pregnancy as Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: Ethical and Pragmatic Consequences for Women’s Health Research
• Q&A: Patient and Community Engagement and Retention
• 2022 Symposium Program

• Welcome and Introductions
• Chairs' Perspectives: Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Academic Research Careers Part 1
• Avoiding Common Pitfalls Part 2
• BIRCWH Scholar Presentations
• WRHR Scholar Presentations
• Small Group Breakouts
  • When Things Don't Go as Planned
  • Managing Professional Relationships
  • Work-Life Integration
  • Leading a Research Team
• Scholar Networking

• Programs Represented: UNC and Duke/NCCU BIRCWH
• Theme: K-Scholar Success – What Does it Take to Transition to Independence?
• Date: Friday, Feb. 21, 2020
• Location: Washington Duke Inn, Durham, NC
  
• Agenda
  • BIRCWH Scholar Presentations
  • Networking
  • Featured Speaker: Matthew Pearsall, PhD, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, Building Resilient Teams
  • Panel Discussion: Paths to success, developing resilience and overcoming rejection, and becoming independent
• 2020 Symposium Program

• Programs Represented: UNC and Duke/NCCU BIRCWH
  
• Date: Friday. Feb. 1, 2019
• Location: Rizzo Center, Chapel Hill, NC
• Agenda
  • Career Development: Jeffrey Houpt, MD, Dean Emeritus, UNC School of Medicine, The Tough Stuff: Conflict, Difficult Conversations, and Negotiation
  • Women’s Health: Susan Girdler, PhD, Depression and Cardiovascular Disease in Mid-Life Women: Biopsychosocial Mechanisms of Risk and Protection
  • BIRCWH Alumnus: Kris C. Wood, PhD, The Transition from Scholar to Independence
  • BIRCWH Scholars: Scholar Snapshots
  • Keynote Presentation: Nobel Prize recipient Robert J. Lefkowitz, MD, Tales of a Serendipitous Scientist
• 2019 Symposium Program

• Programs Represented: UNC and Duke/NCCU BIRCWH
  
• Date: Friday, Jan. 6, 2018
• Location: Washington Duke Inn, Durham, NC
• Agenda
  • Duke BIRCWH Alumna: Geeta Swamy, MD
  • Networking
  • UNC BIRCWH Alumna: Stephanie Zerwas, PhD
  • Keynote Speaker: Joan Y. Reede, MD, MS, MPH, MBA, Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership, Harvard University
• 2018 Symposium Program

• Programs Represented: UNC and Duke/NCCU BIRCWH
  
• Date: Friday, Dec. 2, 2016
• Location: Washington Duke Inn, Durham, NC
• Agenda
  • Anthony Viera, MD, Maximizing/Organizing Time for Writing
  • BIRCWH Scholar Presentations
• 2016 Symposium Program