Background

The Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), established in September 1990 within the Office of the Director, 

NIH, (a) advises the NIH Director and staff on matters relating to research on women’s health; (b) strengthens and 

enhances research related to diseases, disorders, and conditions that affect women; (c) ensures that research conducted 

and supported by NIH adequately addresses issues regarding 

women’s health; (d) ensures that women are appropriately 

represented in biomedical and biobehavioral research studies supported by NIH; (e) develops opportunities for and 

supports recruitment, retention, re-entry, and advancement 

of women in biomedical careers; and (f ) supports research 

on women’s health issues. ORWH works in partnership 

with the NIH institutes and centers to ensure that women’s 

health research is part of the scientific framework at NIH and 

throughout the scientific community.

ORWH benefits from two important committees: the advisory committee on research on Women’s Health (acrWH) 

and the coordinating committee on research on Women’s 

Health (ccrWH). ACRWH provides leadership to ORWH by 

advising the ORWH Director on appropriate research activities on women’s health. ACRWH members are chosen from 

among physicians, practitioners, scientists, and other health 

professionals who are not federal employees. Committee 

members are actively involved in reviewing research priorities, the women’s health research portfolio for NIH, career 

development, and the inclusion of women and minorities in 

clinical research. The CCRWH is composed of NIH institute 

and center (IC) directors or their designees as a direct liaison 

for ORWH with the NIH ICs. Both ACRWH and CCRWH are 

involved in the activities of the ORWH and women’s health 

research and careers at the NIH.

Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., Associate Director for Research on Women’s Health 

Director, Office of Research on Women’s Health

Lisa Begg, Dr. P.H., R.N., Director, Research Programs

Joyce E. Rudick, Director, Programs and Management

Advisory Committee on Coordinating Committee on 

Research on Women’s Health Research on Women’s Health 

Membership Roster Membership Roster 

February 2007-2008 February 2007-2008

Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., Chairperson Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., Chairperson

Bethesda, MD Bethesda, MD

Joyce Rudick, Executive Secretary Joyce Rudick, Executive Secretary

Bethesda, MD Bethesda, MD

Joanna M. Cain, M.D. Yvonne Bryan, Ph.D., NINR Portland, OR John Burklow, OD Luther T. Clark, M.D., María Teresa Canto, D.D.S., M.S., M.P.H., NIDCR F.A.C.C., F.A.C.P. 

North Wales, PA Vicki Cargill, M.D., M.S.C.E., OAR

Deborah Dozier-Hall, M.S.W., CC PonJola Coney, M.D., F.A.C.O.G. 

Richmond, VA Gale Dutcher, M.L.S., NLM

Valery Gordon, M.P.H., Ph.D., NIBIB Andrea Dunaif, M.D. 

Chicago, IL Marcella Haynes, OEODM

Ronald S. Gibbs, M.D. Eleanor Hoff, Ph.D., NIDDK

Denver, CO Karen Hofman, M.D., FIC

Margaret M. Heitkemper, Ph.D., M.K. Holohan Quattrocchi, J.D., NHGRI

R.N., F.A.A.N. Anne Houser, OLPA

Seattle, WA Bonnie Kalberer, M.P.H., OSE

Constance A. Howes, J.D. Tamara Lewis-Johnson, M.B.A., M.P.H., NIAID

Providence, RI Anna Levy, M.S., NCI

Scott J. Hultgren, Ph.D. Ellen S. Liberman, Ph.D., NEI St. Louis, MO Barbara Liu, S.M., NHLBI

Linda M. Kaste, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. Patty Mabry, Ph.D., OBSSR Chicago, IL Vicki Malick, OITE

Nancy Norton Pamela Marino, Ph.D., NIGMS Milwaukee, WI Sheila McClure, Ph.D., NCRR

Mary Beth O’Connell, Pharm.D, Kate Nagy, NIA B.C.P.S., F.A.S.H.P., F.C.C.P.

Detroit, MI Sheila Newton, Ph.D., NIEHS

Mary Frances Picciano, Ph.D., ODS Mary I. O’Connor, M.D. 

Jacksonville, FL Carol Pontzer, Ph.D., NCCAM

Linda Porter, Ph.D., NINDS Eugene P. Orringer, M.D. 

Chapel Hill, NC Svetlana Radaeva, Ph.D., NIAAA

Sally Rosen, M.D., M.F.S. Catherine Roca, M.D., NIMH

Philadelphia, PA Mona Rowe, M.C.P., NICHD

Susan P. Sloan, M.D. John Ruffin, Ph.D., NCMHD

Johnson City, TN Lana Shekim, Ph.D., NIDCD

Phyllis M. Wise, Ph.D. Esther Sternberg, M.D., OIR

Seattle, WA Kate Stoney, Ph.D., NCCAM

Barbara Yee, Ph.D. Madeline Turkeltaub, R.N., Ph.D., C.R.N.P., 

Honolulu, HI F.A.A.N., NIAMS

Carmen D. Zorrilla, M.D. Cora Lee Wetherington, Ph.D., NIDA

San Juan, PR Denise Wiesch, Ph.D., M.P.H., CSR

office of research on Women’s Health | national Institutes of Health | u.S. department 

of Health & Human Services | Phone (301) 402 –1770 | http://orwh.od.nih.gov
reSearcH on Women’S HealtH for tHe 21St century

ORWH, in collaboration with the NIH and the extramural scientific and public advocacy communities, published a report, 

Agenda for Research on Women‘s Health for the 21st Century, 

which provides a basic strategic plan for the ORWH. ORWH 

continues to enhance, stimulate, fund and co-fund meritorious 

research, sponsor research conferences on women’s health, and 

develop new research initiatives through partnerships with the 

NIH ICs. The strategic plan is available on our Web site at 

http://orwh.od.nih.gov/.

overarcHIng tHemeS ImPortant for 

addreSSIng nIH PrIorItIeS for Women’S HealtH 

Lifespan: Developmental, physiological, and psychological 

age affect the health of women and girls across the lifespan, 

from intrauterine life to the elderly years. Other factors, 

such as work, caring for children and the elderly, marital and 

reproductive status, and chronic illness, also contribute to 

the health of women. These variables need to be considered 

when designing women’s health studies. 

Sex/Gender Determinants: Women are characterized by both 

sex and gender as highlighted in the Agenda for Research in 

Women’s Health for the 21st Century and the Institute of Medicine 

report, Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: 

Does Sex Matter? In these contexts, “sex” refers to being male or 

female according to reproductive organs and functions assigned 

by chromosomal complement; and “gender” refers to socially 

defined and derived expectations and roles rooted in biology 

and shaped by environment and experience. Consideration 

of these variables is critical to the accurate interpretation and 

validation of research affecting women’s health.

Health Disparities/Differences and Diversity: Many conditions and diseases disproportionately affect women in terms 

of incidence, diagnosis, course, and response to treatment. 

Further, factors such as biology, genes, culture, education, 

income, access to and quality of care, and access to opportunities for inclusion in clinical trials and studies can contribute to adverse health outcomes for many populations of 

women. In order to better document, describe, prevent, and 

treat disease in women and girls, research should take into 

account this diversity of experience and population-specific 

characteristics.

Interdisciplinary Research: As the inter-relatedness and complexity of human health and disease is better understood, science is shifting to an interdisciplinary approach. Such practice 

can integrate knowledge across specialties and disciplines and 

improve the ability to define complementary and synergistic 

pathologies underlying disease conditions. Women’s health 

research, an already multi-disciplinary field, is uniquely suited 

to promote and advance such an approach. 

The current research priorities listed below are not comprehensive, 

but reflect selected areas identified for new or expanded investigative efforts. (http://orwh.od.nih.gov/research/priorities.html)

current nIH PrIorItIeS for Women’S HealtH reSearcH

Areas of Research Interest—Basic, clinical, and translational 

research that address priority areas, including:

diseases and conditions that affect Women

Investigate the pathogenesis and develop preventive and therapeutic interventions for acute and chronic diseases and disorders that affect women.

methodological advances

Develop clinical trials methodology, such as novel recruitment 

strategies and statistical analysis, that addresses ethical and study 

design issues specific to studies of women, and detects sex and gender 

differences.

education and career development of Women in Science

Identify and explore factors affecting the selection and advancement 

of women’s careers in biomedical sciences; implement novel education programs directed at girls and women; and promote unique 

programs for addressing impediments to the advancement and effective mentoring of women to senior positions in science.

Quality of life

Elucidate the unique sex and gender factors affecting women’s quality 

of life, and develop disease and wellness management approaches.

research collaboration and Partnerships

Foster public-private partnerships and collaborations in all areas of 

research and career development related to women’s health.

Special Emphasis Areas

Prevention and treatment

Research to identify and validate biomarkers and their applications 

to disease prevention, early detection and treatment, including the 

development of novel tools.

Studies of the impact of biological, behavioral, cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors on susceptibility to or protection 

from disease and response to treatment.

Biological and Behavioral Basis of Sex and gender differences

While there has been much research to identify the function of cellular pathways and genes, research on the effects of sex as a modifier 

of cellular and gene function is under-investigated. Systemic and 

cellular modeling of the influence of sex differences in biological 

pathways and systems is needed. For example, greater research will 

clarify the mechanism of sex effects on gene expression and cellular 

signaling pathways, including the impact of puberty, the menstrual 

cycle, pregnancy, and menopause.
advancIng novel ScIence In Women’S HealtH 

reSearcH (anSWHr)

ORWH has just published two program announcements (for an 

R21 and an R03) to stimulate new research in women’s health 

and/or the study of sex/gender factors. For more details:

the r21

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PaS-07-381.html

the r03

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PaS-07-382.html

orWH InterdIScIPlInary InItIatIveS

ORWH develops, implements and funds innovative interdisciplinary research centers and interdisciplinary research training 

programs. These programs benefit both women’s and men’s health 

through sex and gender research, interdisciplinary scientific collaboration, and support for young investigators in a mentored 

environment. Each Fall, scholars, investigators and students 

participate in the Annual Interdisciplinary Women’s Health Research Symposium and as a result several collaborations between 

independent centers have developed to promote independent 

research. These interdisciplinary programs are: 

• Specialized Centers of Research on Sex and Gender Factors 

Affecting Women’s Health (SCORs) 

 ORWH led the development and implementation of eleven 

SCORs with co-funding from six NIH institutes. The interdisciplinary nature of these centers provides innovative approaches 

to advancing research on the influence of sex and gender as it 

relates to health and disease. Primary research areas currently 

under study include pain, pregnancy, substance abuse, and urologic health. A second round of SCOR applications was funded 

in 2007.

• Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers 

in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) 

 ORWH developed and implemented an innovative K12 program to support the training of junior faculty researchers in 

an interdisciplinary mentored environment in women’s health 

research by pairing junior researchers with senior investigators. 

This program bridges advanced training with research independence, in addition to combining scientific disciplines in an 

interdisciplinary nature. ORWH leads the BIRCWH initiative 

with several cosponsors, including NIH Institutes, the NIH 

Office of Dietary Supplements, and the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality. After three rounds of awards, a total of 

29 BIRCWH Centers have been established. A fourth round of 

BIRCWH applications was funded in 2007.

• Intramural Programs 

 ORWH developed a trans-NIH interdisciplinary collaboration on 

women’s health and sex/gender research through the establishment of the Intramural Program on Research on Women’s Health 

(IPRWH). In 2006, ORWH and IPRWH announced the selection 

of the first recipients of the NIH Women’s Health Fellowships in 

Intramural Women’s Health Research. Both fellowships are supported by ORWH and the Office of Intramural Research (OIR) 

and are funded by the Foundation for the NIH, with donations 

from Batelle (Shared Postdoctoral Fellowship) and AstraZeneca 

(Clinical/Translational Fellowship). 

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

 ORWH serves as the focal point for NIH research on Chronic 

Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). CFS initiatives for the NIH are coordinated by the ORWH in partnership with NIH ICs and 

other Federal agencies. In 2006, ORWH sponsored, through 

the NIH Working Group for Research on Chronic Fatigue 

Syndrome, funding for seven awards to investigators whose 

research projects will help understand the central mechanisms 

underlying the neuro-immune interactions in CFS.

nIH mandate for tHe IncluSIon of Women and 

mInorItIeS In clInIcal reSearcH

ORWH leads NIH efforts in monitoring adherence to the NIH 

policy on the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical research studies. The NIH policy for inclusion (Federal Register, 

March 1994) was strengthened in response to the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-43) to ensure that women, 

and minorities and their subpopulations, are included in research 

involving human subjects in sufficient numbers to allow for 

subset analysis by sex (or race). ORWH convenes a trans-NIH 

committee that ensures that the implementation of the inclusion 

policy is uniform across NIH. Working in collaboration with this 

committee, ORWH coordinates data collection and reporting 

methodologies to track numbers of women, men, minorities and 

non-minority men in NIH-supported research studies. These data 

are generated electronically and detail the number of subjects 

included in all clinical research studies as well as those enrolled 

in Phase III clinical trials. The aggregate data are used to help 

document investigator compliance with the NIH Inclusion Policy. 

NIH has updated guidelines to clarify and strengthen the requirement that Phase III clinical studies be designed and carried out 

to allow for the valid analysis of differences between women and 

men (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_update.htm). Analyses of NIH-wide demographic data on 

subjects enrolled in clinical research studies show that substantial 

numbers of women and minorities have been included as research 

subjects. For complete inclusion data, see: http://orwh.od.nih.

gov/inclusion.html.
• WISH-net 

 ORWH supports this Web site on mentoring, which is designed 

for girls and women who are interested in careers in science, 

research, and health care. See http://wish-net.od.nih.gov

• Achieving XXcellence in Science 

 In conjunction with the National Academy of Sciences, ORWH 

sponsored AXXS 2002 to discuss the role that professional societies can play in the advancement of women’s careers in science. 

AXXS Effective Principles continue to be presented at annual 

society meetings. See http://www4.od.nih.gov/axxs

• ORWH/Office of Science Education Programs 

 ORWH provides support to the Office of Science Education 

to develop educational resources for pre-college students and 

others who are interested in science and health careers, such as 

the Women are Scientists Video Series and Women in Science

Poster Series.

outreacH and SemInarS

ORWH provides funding and leadership for the following: 

The ORWH Women’s Health Seminar Series features nationally recognized leaders in women’s health research who present the latest 

information on topics important to women’s health. In 2006 and 

2007, seminars addressed Sexually Transmitted Infections, Caregiving, Diabetes and Adolescent Health. Seminars are free and open to 

the public. See http://orwh.od.nih.gov/news/whss.html

The Women’s Health Special Interest Group (WHSIG) sponsors scientific lectures by NIH and university researchers 

and encourages scientific exchange, networking, multi-institute collaboration, and sharing of laboratory resources. 

See http://orwh.od.nih.gov/news/whsig.html

The annual Anita B. Roberts Lecture Series was developed by the 

NIH Women Scientist Advisors (WSA) Committee, with support 

from ORWH. The seminar series is dedicated to the memory of Dr. 

Roberts, and honors her role as an exceptional mentor and scientist.

ORWH began a series of podcasts “Pinn Point on Women’s Health” 

featuring ORWH Director Dr. Vivian W. Pinn in conversation with other NIH scientists. Podcasts are available at: http://orwh.od.nih.gov

ORWH publications are available on line at: http://orwh.od.nih.gov

Office of Research on Women’s Health 

National Institutes of Health 

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

6707 Democracy Blvd. Suite 400 

Bethesda, MD 20892-5484 

Phone: (301)402-1770 • FAX: (301)402-1798

http://orwh.od.nih.gov

otHer InItIatIveS

Science of Sex and Gender

In order to establish a standard, uniform method of instruction in how to address sex and gender differences, the NIH in 

partnership with the FDA designed an online course to create 

the permanent foundation for sex and gender accountability in 

medical research and treatment. The first module of this course 

was designed to offer participants a basic scientific understanding 

of the major physiological differences between the sexes, their 

influence on illness and health outcomes, and their implications 

for policy, medical research and health care. This course is free 

to the public and allows participants to earn 6 CME credits. 

See http://sexandgendercourse.od.nih.gov 

career develoPment for Women ScIentIStS

ORWH develops and supports opportunities for recruitment, 

retention, re-entry, and advancement of women in biomedical 

careers. Women in Biomedical Careers: Dynamics of Change; Strategies for the 21st Century, a report from an ORWH-sponsored 

workshop, identifies barriers and successful ways to overcome 

obstacles to research careers. This report serves as the basis for 

ORWH activities to increase opportunities for women in biomedical careers. 

• Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health – 

see Interdisciplinary Initiatives.

• Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career Development 

Centers: ORWH joined NICHD to fund 20 institutional career 

awards for Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career 

Development Centers to increase the number of obstetriciansgynecologists conducting research in women’s health. 

• ORWH/Office of Intramural Training and Education Programs include opportunities for intramural research fellows, 

the Summer Research Program for High School Students, 

Undergraduate Scholarship Program for Individuals from 

Disadvantaged Backgrounds, and students from the Sackler 

Faculty of Medicine/Tel Aviv University who are paired with 

NIH mentors. Additional programs include career development workshops, Speaking and Writing Science communication courses, and Fellows Award for Research Excellence. 

See http://www.training.nih.gov

• ORWH Re-entry Program 

 The ORWH Re-entry Program, now supported by 23 NIH 

institutes, was developed in 1992 as a pilot program to help 

fully trained scientists (women and men) reestablish careers in 

biomedical or behavioral science after taking time off to care for 

children or parents, or to attend to other family responsibilities.