science events
SWHR routinely convenes meetings of diverse scientific experts, clinicians, patients, and health care stakeholders to effect change in women’s health.
SWHR’s science events often serve as the foundation for our multiyear programs, known as SWHR’s Interdisciplinary Science Networks, which seek to identify research gaps and address unmet needs in diseases and conditions that disproportionately or differently affect women.
Congressional Briefing, Policy
Upcoming Science Events
Join us for discussions around the latest research in women’s health.
December 2021
Focus on Fibroids Series: Empowering Women through Personal Journey-telling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOezUpbVgBA Uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) are non-malignant growths of the uterus and one of the most common gynecological conditions nationwide. A growing and overlooked public health issue, fibroids affect approximately 26 million American women between the ages 15 to 50, however fibroids can affect patients across life stages from adolescence to post-menopause. With a wide array of common symptoms, such as severe and irregular menstrual bleeding, pelvic and pain back, bladder or bowel dysfunction, and challenges with fertility, fibroids can result…
Sex, Gender, and Race: Intentional Inclusion of Representative Populations in Medical Research
Hosted by the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology and co-Sponsored by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Diversity & Inclusion, this year's Annual Research Showcase is titled Sex, Gender, and Race: Intentional Inclusion of Representative Populations in Medical Research. The keynote will by given by Karen Costenbader, MD MPH, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Michael E. Weinblatt, MD Distinguished Chair in Rheumatology, Division of Rheumatology, Inflammation and Immunity, Lupus Program Director, Brigham and…
Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Annual Meeting
The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) is an institutional mentored career-development program designed to connect junior faculty, known as BIRCWH Scholars, to senior faculty mentors with shared interest in women’s health and sex differences research. The e-poster session for the BIRCWH Scholar abstracts will occur in the afternoon and will be accessible to registered meeting attendees through the virtual meeting platform. The BIRCWH Annual Meeting will include the following session: 5th Ruth L. Kirschstein Memorial Lectureship “Bias…
Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) Annual Meeting Keynote Address
The Specialized Centers of Research Excellence on Sex Differences, or SCORE, program is the only NIH cooperative agreement program supporting disease-agnostic research on sex differences. Each center serves as a national resource for translational research to identify the role of biological sex differences in the health of women. At this year’s SCORE Annual Meeting, Tracy L. Bale, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, will present the keynote address: “Extracellular Vesicles as Stress Signals: Identifying Novel Biomarkers in…
Building Unifying Systems of Care Addressing Comorbidities in Women and Girls
This virtual workshop will address the gaps and opportunities for advancing community adoption and implementation of gender-relevant, evidence-based mental health, substance use, cardiopulmonary, and metabolic disease prevention and treatment interventions for women from high-risk and marginalized communities across the lifespan. Addressing social determinants of health and building infrastructure to ensure sustainability of innovations will be important cross-cutting themes. The workshop will bring together experts—including researchers, clinicians, and community and Federal partners—to: Present the current state of research and critical gaps…
20/20 Foresight: Understanding Women’s Eye Health and Supporting Patient Needs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6IEy-6oFrU Vision impairment is one of the most common causes of disability in the United States. More than 12 million Americans aged 40 and older are visually impaired or blind. Women are affected disproportionately more than men and certain eye conditions can present in women differently across the lifespan. Some diseases become increasingly common or burdensome with age, such as age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma. Up to two-thirds of Americans with these conditions are women. Other conditions that are…
January 2022
Technology to Improve Maternal Health Workshop
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering is hosting a “Technology to Improve Maternal Health” workshop on January 18, 2022. This workshop will include panel discussions on the topics of technology, clinical outcomes, and community; moderated networking sessions; and a plenary session hosted by Elizabeth Howell, M.D., M.P.P., Chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System. This workshop is part of the National Institutes of Health’s Implementing a…
SeXX and Immunity
On January 19, 2022, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will kick off a new series of discussions and seminars called “SeXX and Immunity.” These sessions will explore our understanding of sex differences and sex dimorphism in relation to immune responses and how presentations of infectious diseases differ based on biology. The first session will feature Dr. Sabra Klein of Johns Hopkins University, for a talk titled “SeXX matters for viral infection and vaccination.” Sabra Klein, PhD, is Professor of Molecular…
The Current State of Cervical Health Domestically and Internationally: An Opportunity for Knowledge Exchange and Bidirectional Learning
Hosted by Health Resources and Services Administration, this event will explore the current state of cervical health globally and provide and opportunity for educational and knowledge exchange among attendees. REGISTER
Breastfeeding among Individuals Living with HIV: A Reasonable or Unreasonable Option?
Participants will learn current breastfeeding recommendations and guidelines for an HIV+ parent. The presenter for this event is Judy Levison, MD, MPH is a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas. She completed her MD degree from Tufts University in Boston, her residency in Ob/Gyn at the University of Washington, and her MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health in 2010. REGISTER