Women’s Health Research Day 2026
April 29, 2026
8:30 AM - 1:00 PM America/Chicago
Location
SCW Thompson Room’s ABC
Calendar
Download iCal FileWomen’s Health Research Day is a yearly event hosted by the Center for Research on Women and Gender, the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health program, and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This year’s theme is Maternal Health Outcomes.
UIC students, fellows, staff, and faculty are invited to submit an abstract on their basic, clinical or translational research in women’s health or sex- or gender medicine. Abstracts presented at other international, national, and local meetings within the past year are welcome.
The top two abstracts will be selected for brief (5-minute) oral presentations and will be awarded prizes. The other abstracts will participate in judged poster presentations. The abstracts selected for oral presentations and the top two scoring posters will be awarded prizes.
Breakfast will be provided.
Abstract submission and Registration are both closed.
Date posted
Dec 3, 2025
Date updated
Apr 27, 2026
Schedule of Events & Speaker Bios
Schedule of Events
- 8:30 – 8:50
Networking and Breakfast - 8:50 – 9:00
Welcome Note
Dr. Pauline Maki - 9:00 – 10:00
Keynote Speaker Presentation and Q&A
Dr. George Saade - 10:00 – 10:15
Break - 10:15 – 11:00
Poster Presentations - 11:00 – 11:15
Oral Abstract Winner Presentation
Janette Garcia Campos - 11:15 – 11:30
Oral Abstract Winner Presentation
Dr. Sofija Jovanovic Gasovic
- 11:30 – 11:55
UIC BIRCWH/WHRA Alumni Presentation and Q&A
Dr. Sirimon Reutrakul - 11:55-12:20
UIC BIRCWH/WHRA Alumni Presentation and Q&A
Dr. Beatriz Peñalver-Bernabé - 12:20 – 12:30
Announcement of Poster Winners and Closing Remarks
Dr. Irina Buhimschi
Speaker: George R. Saade, MD
KEYNOTE: Dr. George Saade Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Associate Dean for Women’s Health, and EVMS Foundation Chair for Women’s Health at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University
Dr. George Saade is a Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Associate Dean for Women’s Health, and EVMS Foundation Chair for Women’s Health at Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University. He is an elected member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and Alpha Omega Alpha. He is past president of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine and past Chair of its Health Policy and Advocacy Committee. He is the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Perinatology. Dr. Saade has served on a number of national and international advisory committees and scientific review panels, including NIH, CDC, March of Dimes, ACOG, Wellbeing/Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
He has been principal investigator several NIH grants, including NIH-funded clinical research networks. Dr. Saade is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. His clinical area of expertise revolves around adverse pregnancy outcomes and long-term health for mother and offspring. He has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and co-edited several textbooks including the Maternal Medicine and the Critical Care Obstetrics textbooks. He has been voted as Best Doctor and selected to Super Doctors several years in a row.
George R. Saade, MD
EVMS Foundation Chair for Women’s Health
Associate Dean for Women’s Health
Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences
Eastern Virginia Medical School at Old Dominion University
601 Colley Avenue, Suite 414
Norfolk, VA 23507
Sirimon Reutrakul, M.D.
Sirimon Reutrakul, M.D., Certified Diabetes Care Education and Specialist
Dr. Reutrakul is a Professor of Medicine, the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Illinois Chicago. She has clinical expertise in diabetes (type 1, type 2, diabetes in pregnancy and other forms of diabetes) and related complications. Her research interest focuses on the link between sleep and circadian regulation and cardiometabolic outcomes. Her work, funded by the National Institutes of Health, has led to changes in clinical guideline recommendations by the American Diabetes Association, resulting in changes in clinical care of people with diabetes.
Dr. Reutrakul is actively involved in diabetes care in Thailand. She is currently the first Vice President of the Thai Association of Diabetes Educators and an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Thailand. She initiated a certification for diabetes educators for the first time in Thailand in 2017 and is involved in work to influence national policies in diabetes.
Dr. Beatriz Peñalver Bernabé
Dr. Beatriz Peñalver Bernabé, Assistant Professor in the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering.
Dr. Beatriz Peñalver Bernabé is an Assistant Professor in the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago and a core member of the Center for Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biology. Her research aims to build a systems-level understanding of reproductive health, enabling precision diagnostics and personalized interventions for women. She earned her PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Northwestern University and completed postdoctoral training in human microbiome research at the University of Chicago and UC San Diego as an Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellow. She has received several awards including K12 BIRCWH Fellowship and the Young Investigator Award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation.
In her lab, Dr. Peñalver Bernabé develops computational, network-based approaches to unravel the complex biological processes behind fertility, pregnancy, and ovarian aging. A current central focus is the microbiota–gut–brain axis in perinatal depression, a common yet underdiagnosed condition. Through her NIH-funded clinical study, MoMent, her team integrates longitudinal multi-omics, neuroimaging, and electronic health record data to uncover how maternal neuroendocrine function, the gut microbiome, and mood are interconnected. Alongside this, her lab explores the metabolic mechanisms driving ovarian aging. Through this work, Dr. Peñalver Bernabé aims to transform women’s health by translating complex biological insights into actionable, personalized interventions.