About Us

The Johns Hopkins Center for Women's Health, Sex, and Gender Research (previously the Women's Health Research Group) is an interdisciplinary collaborative research group, among the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing at The Johns Hopkins University

Our mission is to:

1. Create a forum for the discussion of research related to women's health and gender-based differences.
2. To build our funding base to have continued support for networking sessions, symposia, as well as pilot award programs for early-stage researchers. Provide mentorship and training opportunities to students, fellows and junior faculty who do research related to women's health and sex/gender differences.
3. Provide mentorship and training opportunities to students, fellows, and junior faculty who do research related to women's health and sex/gender differences..
4. Encourage faculty development from underrepresented groups in academic medicine and public health, such as women, racial/ethnic minorities, and sexual/gender minorities.

Our Goals and Objectives

1. To promote the visibility of the Center's activities, including research focused on women's health, sex, and gender-based differences, as well as other relevant research at Johns Hopkins.
2. To build our funding base to have continued support for networking sessions, symposia, as well as pilot award programs for early-stage researchers
3. To continue our role as a resource in identifying funding opportunities in women's health, sex, and gender differences research.
4. To conduct networking session  and annual symposia aimed at identifying research gaps and building interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge clinical, epidemiological, and basic biomedical research in women's health, sex, and gender research.

* Wendy Bennett, Co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Women's Health, Sex, and Gender Research, discusses how the group was formed and our unique interdisciplinary mission for women's health.

Johns Hopkins SADII-SCORE:

The Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences program is a signature program of the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH). Each SCORE program serves as a national resource for translational research, at multiple levels of analysis, to identify the role of biological sex differences on the health of women. These NIH-supported Centers of Excellence are vital hubs for research on sex and gender that also provide pilot funding, training, and education.

The Johns Hopkins Sex and Age Differences in Immunity to Influenza (SADII) SCORE is positioned to transform our understanding of the role of biological sex, gender, and aging on immune responses to influenza vaccination, which has global public health implications, affecting millions of people worldwide. The SADII SCORE brings together investigators focused on (1) seasonal influenza vaccination in an existing age- and sex-stratified human population, (2) animal models that can test hypotheses and mechanisms of action that are inferred from studies in human populations, and (3) the contributions of age, frailty, sex, and gender to vaccine outcomes using quantitative and qualitative statistical models.

For more information on the SCORE program please visit the ORWH page detailing it here

Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 Award

The Johns Hopkins Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) K12 program is supported by the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, as well as the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, and the Department of Gynecology & Obstetrics.

We are committed to supporting the transformation of scholars into independently funded, networked, and lifelong ethical investigators leading interdisciplinary teams to improve women’s health by advancing our understanding of sex and gender differences, and health concerns unique to, more prevalent, or with differential consequences in women.

Please find more information about the BIRCWH Program and How to Apply here

Our Faculty

	Wendy Bennett, M.D., M.P.H Co-chair, Johns Hopkins Center for Women's Health, Sex, and Gender Research Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Contact Faculty Profile	Research Interests: Diabetes, obesity, preventive medicine, women's health, internal medicine Current Projects:
	Sabra Klein, PhD Co-chair, Johns Hopkins Center for Women's Health, Sex, and Gender Research Associate Professor, W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Contact Faculty Profile  @sabraklein1998	Research Interests: Sex-based biology, influenza, vaccines, malaria, endocrine-immunology Current Projects: 1. NIH-sponsored contract focused on sex-specific evaluation of diverse universal flu vaccine platforms 2. NIH-sponsored contract to evaluate sex and age effects on influenza pathogenesis and vaccination 3. JHMRI Pilot award to evaluate sex differences in response to malaria vaccination
	Joann Bodurtha, M.D., M.P.H Professor, Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Contact Faculty Profile	Research Interests: Genetics and public health, communication in genetics, family history, genetic services access and disparities, quality of life in genetic conditions Current Projects: 1. Quality improvement in genetic services 2. The family circle in lung cancer 3. Regional genetic services
	Andrew Satin, M.D. Dr. Dorothy Edwads Professor and Director of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Contact Faculty Profile	Research Interests: Labor stimulation, exercise in pregnancy, simulation and safety sciences Current Projects: PI- Strong Start for Mothers and Babies Co-PD BIRCWH
	Victoria Handa, M.D. Professor, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Contact Faculty Profile	Research Interests: Epidemiology, pelvic floor disorders (incontinence, prolapse), maternal health after childbirth, quality of life and patient-centered outcomes Current Projects: 1. Cesarean and vaginal birth: cohort study of the impact on pelvic floor disorders (R01HD056275) 2. Mechanisms for pelvic organ prolapse after obstetrical levator muscle injury (R01 HD082070)
	Janice Evans, PhD Professor, Biochemistry & Molecylar Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Contact Faculty Profile	Research Interests: Reproductive biology, specifically the oocyte's progression through meiosis; cell biology; cytoskeleton, egg, sperm, meiosis, contraception, infertility Current Projects: - Mackenzie ACL, Kyle DD, McGinnis LA, Lee HJ, Aldana N, Robinson DN, Evans JP. Cortical mechanics and myosin-II abnormalities associated with post-ovulatory aging: Implications for functional defects in aged eggs. Mol Hum Reprod 2016; 22:397-409.  - McGinnis LA, Lee HJ, Robinson DN, Evans JP. MAPK3/1 (ERK1/2) and Myosin Light Chain Kinase in mammalian eggs affect myosin-II function and regulate the metaphase II state in a calcium- and zinc-dependent manner Biol Reprod 2015; 92:146.  - Matthews LM, Evans JP. α-endosulfine (ENSA) regulates exit from prophase I arrest in mouse oocytes. Cell Cycle 2014; 13:1639-1649.