Women’s Health Research Symposium

Scientific Meeting on All Aspects of Women’s Health
Friday, Feb. 6, 2026 8 a.m.- 1:15 p.m. Trent Semans Center Great Hall

Panel Discussions - Data Science & Career Paths | Poster Showcase | Scholar Presentations | Networking Lunch

AGENDA

TIME SESSION
8:00 - 8:15 AM

Welcome & Introductions

8:15 - 9:15 AM

Panel Discussion with Q&A: Expanding Research Impact through Data Science

  • Jeff Federspiel, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Chuan Hong, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Kirti Magudia, MD, PhDAssistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Courtney Van Houtven, PhDProfessor, Department of Population Health Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine
9:15 - 9:35 AM Networking Break
9:35 - 10:25 AM

Scholar Presentations

10:25 – 11:25 AM Poster Showcase & Networking
11:25 AM – 12:25 PM

Panel Discussion with Q&ACareer Paths that Make a Difference

  • Jamila Minga, PhD (BIRCWH 2022)Associate Professor, Department of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Haley Moss, MD, MBA (BIRCWH 2021)Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine; Director, Breast and Gynecologic Oncology System of Excellence, National Oncology Program, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — Durham
  • Rebecca Previs, MD (WRHR 2022)Director of Medical Affairs, Labcorp Oncology; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University School of Medicine
  • Jennifer Wu, MD, MPH (BIRCWH 2011), Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and Deputy Chief Academic Officer, UNC Health
12:25 – 12:30 PM Closing Remarks
12:30 - 1:15 PM

Networking Lunch 

 

Past Events

[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

Dr. Amundsen, Dr. Grotegut and Dr. Greenup at the 2024 symposium

 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
Collage of photos from the 2024 symposium
BIRCWH/WRHR Symposium 2023 - panel

This year’s event was held on February 17th at Duke, in the Trent Semans Great Hall. This research-career-oriented meeting featured presentations by BIRCWH and WRHR scholars and a panel discussion focusing on The “–ships” To Success: Navigating Academia, led by Geeta Swamy, MD, Duke University’s Associate Vice President for Research and Vice Dean for Scientific Integrity.

Recordings

2022 Symposium (2/18/2022)

  • 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
    2020 BIRCWH Symposium group
  • 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
    2019 BIRCWH Lefkowitz
  • 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
    2018 BIRCWH Symposium group
  • 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
    2016 BIRCWH presentation2
  • 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

Program Contacts

PI of the Duke/NCCU BIRCWH Award and Program Director: Cindy Amundsen, MD
Site-PI NCCU: Nina Smith, PhD
Program Coordinator: Friederike Jayes, PhD – please forward any questions to the BIRCWH Program Coordinator