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Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career Development Center (WRHRCDC)

In 2005, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University was one of 20 Ob/Gyn sites recognized nationwide and funded by the National Institutes of Health to be a Women’s Reproductive Health Research Career Development Center. The funding for this award is through 2010.

The long-term goal of the WRHRCDC at Northwestern University is to provide an outstanding research training program for the career development of obstetrician-gynecologists to become physician scientists who can conduct advanced translational research and compete for federal funds. We have an outstanding group of mentors and reproductive research infrastructure at Northwestern University. The expertise of mentors spans placenta, fetus, pregnant mother, gestational diabetes, preterm labor, endometruim, implantation, endometriosis, endometrial cancer, myometrium, uterine leiomyomata, ovarian physiology, ovarian cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome, and reproductive functions of pituitary and hypothalamus. These mentors have maintained an excellent track record in training MD-scientists in their laboratories or clinical facilities and will provide a wide variety of research opportunities to the WRHR Scholars. WRHR Scholars will have an opportunity to choose between highly competitive laboratories or clinical teams conducting research related to reproductive endocrinology-infertility, maternal-fetal medicine, gynecologic oncology and reproductive genetics. 

WRHRCDC Scholar Candidates

WRHRCDC Scholar candidates and their selected mentor will prepare an application detailing prior research and educational experiences, proposed research project, and a mentoring plan for the WRHRCDC. All applicants will be reviewed the advisory committee.

WRHR Scholar positions provide research and salary support at the level of assistant professor for a minimum of two years and up to five years. Individuals are expected to spend a minimum of 75% of full-time professional effort conducting research and research career development.

Eligibility requirements:

• MD or MD/PhD with completed residency (completed fellowship optional)
• No previous NIH independent research awards (R01, R03) or more than three years on a K award
• United States citizen, non-citizen national, or permanent citizen with verification of legal admission

How to apply:
Contact Dr. Serdar E. Bulun via email at s-bulun@northwestern.edu with the following information:

• Brief statement of research and career plans
• Curriculum vitae or biosketch

If selected as a WRHRCDC Scholar candidate, further application will include:

• Research plan, including hypothesis and specific aims
• NIH biosketch
• 3 letters of recommendation: One letter must be from the candidate’s chair, two letters of reference may be from director of residency/fellowship training program, previous mentors or other physician and scientists familiar with the candidate’s qualifications
• Selected mentor’s name and research focus
• If mentor is not approved; a NIH biosketch, research summary, and  list of current and past trainees will be required for review

Currently Approved Northwestern University WRHRCDC Mentors
Senior scientists outside this list may serve as WRHRCDC mentors. Each mentor will need to be approved by the NIH prior to start of the research project.

Currently Approved Northwestern University WRHRCDC Scholars:

Beth Plunkett

Dr. Beth Plunkett joined the WRHRCDC program in 2005 as an assistant professor in maternal and fetal medicine.  She received her MD degree from the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine and an MPH degree from Northwestern University. Dr. Plunkett’s research focus is placental hypoxia and its relationship with perinatal outcomes. She is currently working with her mentor, Dr. Susan Crawford, to determine if placental vasculopathy and abnormal angiogenesis correlate with stillbirth, intrauterine growth restriction, and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes for the infants.

Melissa Simon

Dr. Melissa Simon received her MD degree from Rush Medical College and her MPH degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She completed residency in obstetrics & gynecology at Yale University Medical Center and served as a fellow in family planning and contraception at Northwestern University. She joins the WRHRCDC program with an interest in reducing the number of reproductive health-related disparities among women who are traditionally considered underserved. Dr. Simon will be working with her mentor, Dr. Charles Bennett, to further investigate this topic with an emphasis on family planning services.

Ann Bryant

Dr. Ann Bryant completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and a fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Northwestern University.  She received her MD degree from Harvard Medical School and an MSc degree in health policy from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Dr. Bryant's main interests involve the relationship between stress and preterm birth. She is working with her mentor, Dr. Kevin Weiss, to determine if extrinsic stress experiences and intrinsic stress biomarkers are predictive of preterm birth.

** Principal Investigator
* Program Director

To learn more information about these mentors, including federal funding, publications and research, please search Crisp database, Pubmed, and the Northwestern websites.

WRHRCDC Administration contact information:
Rachna Chaudhari
303 E. Superior St., 4-121
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 503-0515
rachna@northwestern.edu

This page last updated on­ Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:44 PM