III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 242 

Celebrating 25 years of success from the Office of Research on Women’s 

Health at the National Institutes of Health. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Celebrating 25 years of success from the Office of Research 

on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health. 

Whereas, on September 10, 1990, the Office of Research on 

Women’s Health (in this resolution referred to as 

‘‘ORWH’’) was established at the National Institutes of 

Health (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘NIH’’) to— 

(1) ensure that women were included in NIH-funded 

clinical research; 

(2) set research priorities to address gaps in scientific knowledge; and 

(3) promote biomedical research careers for women; 

Whereas ORWH was established in law by the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 (Public Law 

103–43; 107 Stat. 122) and implemented the law requirVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Aug 06, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR242.IS SR242

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•SRES 242 IS 

ing researchers to include women in NIH-funded tests of 

new drugs and other clinical trials; 

Whereas, today, more than 1⁄2 of the participants in NIHfunded clinical trials are women, enabling the development of clinical approaches to prevention, diagnosis, or 

treatment appropriate for women; 

Whereas, in 2015, ORWH, with enthusiastic support from 

NIH leadership, announced that, beginning in January 

2016, NIH-funded scientists must account for the possible role of sex as a biological variable in vertebrate animal and human studies; 

Whereas ORWH, along with NIH leadership, enhances 

awareness of the need to adhere to principles of rigor and 

transparency, including the need to publish sex-specific 

results to inform the treatment of women, men, boys, and 

girls; 

Whereas, over the past 25 years, ORWH has helped expand 

research on women’s health beyond its roots in reproductive health to include— 

(1) the study of the health of women across the lifespans of women; and 

(2) biomedical and behavioral research from cells to 

selves; 

Whereas, by studying both sexes, ORWH is leading the scientific community to make discoveries headed toward 

treatments that are more personalized for both women 

and men; 

Whereas, today, ORWH communicates through programs 

and policies that sex and gender affect health, wellness, 

and how diseases progress; 


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•SRES 242 IS 

Whereas turning discovery into health for all, the NIH motto, 

means studying both females and males across the biomedical research continuum; 

Whereas the ORWH Specialized Centers of Research on Sex 

Differences program supports established scientists who 

do basic, clinical, and translational research with a sex 

and gender focus; 

Whereas all NIH Institutes and Centers fund and encourage 

scientists at universities across the Nation to conduct research on the health of women and on sex and gender influences; 

Whereas, over the past 25 years, ORWH has established several career-enhancement initiatives for women in biomedicine, including the Building Interdisciplinary Research 

Careers in Women’s Health program that connects junior 

faculty with mentors who share interests in women’s 

health research; 

Whereas ORWH co-directs the NIH Working Group on 

Women in Biomedical Careers, which develops and evaluates policies to promote the recruitment, retention, and 

sustained advancement of women scientists; 

Whereas the Women’s Health Initiative (in this resolution referred to as ‘‘WHI’’) marked the first long-term study of 

its kind and resulted in a wealth of information so that 

women and their physicians can make more informed decisions regarding postmenopausal hormone therapy; 

Whereas WHI reduced the incidence of breast cancer by 

10,000 to 15,000 cases per year, and the overall health 

care savings far exceeded the WHI investment; 

Whereas ORWH supported the National Cancer Institute’s 

development of a vaccine that prevents the transmission 


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•SRES 242 IS 

of Human Papilloma Virus, resulting in a decrease in the 

number of cases of cervical cancer; 

Whereas, in 1994, ORWH co-sponsored with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases a landmark 

study, the results of which showed that giving the drug 

AZT to HIV-infected women with little or no prior 

antiretroviral therapy reduced the risk of mother-to-child 

transmission of HIV by 2⁄3; 

Whereas, according to the CDC, perinatal HIV infections in 

the United States have dropped by more than 90 percent; 

Whereas ORWH co-funded a large clinical study of the genetic and environmental risk factors for ischemic stroke, 

which identified a strong relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the probability of 

ischemic stroke in young women, prompting the targeting 

of smoking as a preventable and modifiable risk factor 

for cerebrovascular disease in young women; and 

Whereas, over the past 25 years, ORWH has contributed 

support toward major advances in knowledge about the 

genetic risk for breast cancer, and discovery of the 

BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic risk markers has enabled 

better-informed genetic counseling and treatment for 

members of families that carry mutant alleles: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) ORWH has improved and saved the lives of 

3 countless women worldwide and must remain intact 

4 for this and future generations; 


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1 (2) there remain striking sex and gender dif2 ferences in many diseases and conditions, on which 

3 ORWH should continue to focus, including— 

4 (A) autoimmune diseases; 

5 (B) cancer; 

6 (C) cardiovascular diseases; 

7 (D) depression and brain disorders; 

8 (E) Alzheimer’s disease; 

9 (F) diabetes; 

10 (G) chronic diseases and disorders; 

11 (H) infectious diseases; 

12 (I) obesity; and 

13 (J) addictive disorders; 

14 (3) ORWH must continue to focus on ensuring 

15 that NIH funds biomedical research that considers 

16 sex as a basic biological variable, across the research 

17 spectrum from basic to clinical studies; and 

18 (4) the Director of the NIH should continue to 

19 consult and involve ORWH on all matters related to 

20 the influence of sex and gender on health, especially 

21 those pertaining to the consideration of sex as a bio22 logical variable in research with vertebrate animals 

23 and humans. 

Æ 


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