Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH)
About BIRCWH
The University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC), Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH), is an NIH-funded, K12 training grant to mentor scientists in women’s health and biological sex-based health research. The UIC BIRCWH program trains junior faculty scholars to become independent research investigators. The program consists of a core and tailored curriculum, research training, mentoring (by a team of two or more senior researchers), individualized career planning, and research projects.
Due to the success of the BIRCWH program, the Women’s Health Research (WHR) Associates program was implemented. The WHR Associates program is an internally funded program. WHR Associates receive identical tailored curricula, research training, mentoring, career development, and research projects.
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Our Goals
The UIC BIRCWH Program aligns with the 2024–28 NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for Research on the Health of Women, which calls for developing a strong workforce to advance science for women’s health (NIH ORWH, 2024). The program supports junior faculty pursuing research on women’s health and the role of sex as a biological variable in health and disease.
Our long-term objective is to prepare a new generation of researchers with the skills and knowledge to advance women’s health science in the coming decade and beyond. While based in the UI College of Medicine, the program leverages the interdisciplinary strengths of UIC’s seven health colleges and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Scholars receive protected time, career development funds, and guidance through a team- and peer-based mentoring model, with the aim of achieving K- or R-level NIH funding by the end of training.
Because NIH slots awarded to UIC BIRCWH have not met demand, the Women’s Health Research (WHR) Associate Program was established to expand trainee opportunities through internal UIC funds and partnerships with other NIH-funded centers at UIC.
Our Scholars
Initially funded in 2007, the UIC BIRCWH program has fostered the academic careers of 25 faculty Scholars and one postdoctoral Trainee, including 35% under-represented minorities (URM). The companion program Women’s Health Research (WHR) Associates Program has supported 11 Associates (38% URM).
BIRCWH Application
The UIC Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) is accepting applications for its 2025 BIRCWH Scholar Cohort. BIRCWH is an NIH-funded K12 training grant to mentor full-time, tenure-track junior faculty in research focusing on women’s health and/or sex as a biological variable (SABV). During the funding period, the UIC BIRCWH program will train up to four junior faculty BIRCWH scholars to become independent women’s health or SABV investigators. For the 2025 cohort, we are looking to recruit two MDs for up to three years of training and two PhDs for up to two years of training.
Activities associated with the UIC BIRCWH program include a core and tailored curriculum, research training, mentoring (by a team of two or more senior women’s health or SABV health researchers), individualized career planning, a research project, regular team meetings, participation in the national BIRCWH meeting, engagement in Women’s Health Research Day, and participation with the Midwest BIRCWH program.
Core Activities:
Scholars are required to devote 75% of professional effort to program activities including research, core and tailored curricula, and other BIRCWH program activities. Surgeons are required to devote 50% of professional effort to these activities.
The BIRCWH program will fund 75% of the scholar’s salary (50% for surgeons), up to a maximum of $100,000.00/year (salary plus fringe benefits) for a minimum of two years conditional upon meeting program requirements. The program will also fund $35,000 annually in research support. The scholar’s college and/or department will be responsible for the remaining salary. Additionally, the dean of each scholar’s college will be asked to commit $25,000 in career development funds annually to their scholar in the BIRCWH program.
Application materials can be found here. Applications are due on 10/1/2025 by 11:59 CDT and should be sent to Pauline Maki, PhD at pmaki1@uic.edu and Irina Buhimschi, MD at irina@uic.edu (Letters of Reference are due by 10/15/2025).
If you have any questions, please contact Pauline Maki, PhD at pmaki1@uic.edu and Irina Buhimschi, MD at irina@uic.edu.
Program Leadership
Pauline M. Maki
Irina A. Buhimschi
More info
Program Coordinator
Lily Alexandroff
lalex26@uic.edu
Source of Support: National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health, National Institute on Child Health and Human Development.