III 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 695 

Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the National Institutes of Health Office 

of Research on Women’s Health and the continuing leadership and 

achievements of the Office on Women’s Health in conducting and supporting biomedical research to improve women’s health. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 6, 2010 

Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. STABENOW, and Mrs. BOXER) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 20th anniversary of the National Institutes 

of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health and 

the continuing leadership and achievements of the Office 

on Women’s Health in conducting and supporting biomedical research to improve women’s health. 

Whereas the National Institutes of Health (referred to in this 

preamble as the ‘‘NIH’’) Office of Research on Women’s 

Health (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘ORWH’’) is 

a leader in the national commitment to research, research 

training, and science-based education programs on women’s health and sex differences research; 

Whereas the ORWH was originally established in 1990 in response to congressional, scientific, and advocacy concerns 

regarding the lack of systemic and consistent inclusion of 

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women in NIH-funded clinical research and the lack of 

scientific data and information regarding women’s health; 

Whereas the ORWH has made significant progress in developing and implementing policies to ensure the inclusion 

of women in NIH clinical research and, in this manner, 

has encouraged the increased reporting in scientific literature of sex- and gender-related factors in health and 

clinical trial analysis; 

Whereas the ORWH initiated the ‘‘Building Interdisciplinary 

Research Careers in Women’s Health’’ program in 1999 

and has supported the career development and advancement of approximately 400 early-stage research scientists 

to become independent researchers and obtain academic 

promotions at major research institutions throughout the 

United States; 

Whereas the ORWH initiated the ‘‘Specialized Centers of Research on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women’s 

Health’’ program in 2002 to support interdisciplinary 

and sex differences research, including basic, 

translational, and clinical investigations, by accomplished 

scientists; 

Whereas in 2009, the scientists participating in the ‘‘Specialized Centers of Research on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women’s Health’’ program published 116 journal 

articles, 176 abstracts, and 63 other publications; 

Whereas the ORWH collaborates with NIH Institutes and 

Centers to support basic, clinical, population, and 

translational research in laboratory, clinical, and community settings throughout the United States; 

Whereas the ORWH pursues research efforts to benefit all 

individuals burdened by diseases and disorders that are 

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within the scope of the mission of the ORWH, including 

men, women, older and younger adults, children, minority 

populations who are disproportionately affected by certain diseases, people from economically-disadvantaged 

backgrounds, and other understudied or underrepresented populations; 

Whereas ORWH-supported research has dramatically increased vital understanding of sex differences research, 

from single cells to multiple biological systems and mechanisms, and has prompted sex differences research in the 

fields of endocrinology, immunology, epigenetics, systems 

biology, and neuroscience, as well as in new technologyenabled fields such as genomics, proteomics, and 

metabolomics; 

Whereas research conducted and supported by the ORWH 

has been instrumental in revolutionizing policies, research, and programs focusing on the health, prevention, 

diagnostic, and treatment strategies for girls, women, 

and their families, leading to remarkable improvements 

in health and quality of life; 

Whereas the ORWH sponsors education and outreach programs, with materials tailored for diverse audiences, to 

improve women’s health by disseminating science-based 

information to women and their families, those at risk for 

disease, health care educators, and the general public; 

Whereas the ORWH has initiated or participated in collaborative and coordinated research efforts and science-based 

public education programs in order to maximize the Federal investment in research and synergize expertise across 

the NIH, with other Federal agencies, and with public 

and private organizations; 

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Whereas the ORWH has a farsighted research agenda for the 

next decade entitled ‘‘Moving Into the Future With New 

Dimensions and Strategies: A Vision for 2020 for Women’s Health Research’’ that is based on the culmination 

of a 2-year strategic planning process, involving more 

than 1,500 leading scientists, advocates for women’s 

health, public policy experts, health care providers, Federal, State, and local elected officials, and the general 

public in 5 regional scientific meetings; 

Whereas the ORWH research agenda is visionary and addresses the 6 major goals of— 

(1) increasing the study of sex differences in basic 

research studies; 

(2) incorporating findings of sex differences in the 

design and application of new technologies, medical devices, and therapeutic drugs; 

(3) actualizing personalized prevention, diagnostics, 

and therapeutics for girls and women; 

(4) creating strategic alliances and partnerships in 

order to maximize the national and international impact 

of research on women’s health; 

(5) developing and implementing new communication 

and social networking technologies to increase understanding and appreciation of research on women’s health; 

and 

(6) employing innovative strategies to build a welltrained, diverse, and vibrant women’s health research 

workforce; and 

Whereas ORWH-supported initiatives and programs continue 

to make strides in addressing the expanded concepts of 

women’s health across the entire lifespan of a woman, 

while continuing to explore understudied areas of repromstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

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ductive health and the menopausal transition, developing 

distinct research career paths for investigators in women’s health, sex differences, and interdisciplinary research, increasing the number of investigator-initiated 

women’s health research studies in areas such as cardiovascular disease and stroke, musculoskeletal and immune 

disorders, and mental health and substance abuse, and 

increasing the scientific knowledge on the health, diseases, disorders, and conditions that affect diverse populations of women: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the 20th anniversary of the Na3 tional Institutes of Health Office of Research on 

4 Women’s Health (referred to in this resolution as 

5 the ‘‘ORWH’’); 

6 (2) commends the ORWH for its leadership in 

7 women’s health research, research training, and 

8 science-based education programs; 

9 (3) recognizes ORWH-supported scientists 

10 whose studies have improved women’s health and 

11 whose research continues to yield promising discov12 eries; 

13 (4) recognizes the volunteers who participate in 

14 clinical studies and the patient and professional 

15 health organizations that contribute to the shared 

16 research goals of preventing, treating, and curing 

17 the diseases and disorders within the scope of the 

18 mission of the ORWH; and 

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1 (5) reaffirms the support of the Senate for the 

2 ORWH and the continued commitment of the 

3 ORWH to carrying out research to improve women’s 

4 health. 

Æ 

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