Connors-BRI Center for Research on Women’s Health and Sex/Gender Medicine

Center Overview

The Connors-BRI Center for Research on Women’s Health and Sex/Gender Medicine engages the talent and resources of a diverse group of BWH research faculty and trainees in the fields of women’s health and sex/gender medicine. Research led by Center members across the institution employs fundamental science, population health, as well as clinical and translational models to investigate disorders that affect women exclusively, predominantly, and differentially. Representing multiple disciplines across the hospital, research includes the discovery and investigation of mechanisms that explain sex and gender differences in morbidity and mortality, study of disorders specific to women, utilization of a lifespan perspective, including but not limited to a focus on reproductive transitions specific to women such as pregnancy, the menopause transition, and postmenopause.

The Center represents the interests of its stakeholder community at the Brigham Research Institute, hosts symposia on key research topics in women’s health and sex/gender medicine, sponsors educational seminars on related topics, partners with BWH affiliates, and recognizes excellence in women’s health and sex/gender medicine research through awards at the annual Discover Brigham meeting.

For more information about the Connors-BRI Center for Research on Women’s Health and Sex/Gender Medicine, email bwhbri@partners.org.

Methods

Rich-Edwards JW, Kaiser UB, Chen GL, Manson JE, Goldstein JM. Sex and Gender Differences Research Design for Basic, Clinical, and Population Studies: Essentials for Investigators. Endocr Rev. 2018 Aug 1;39(4):424-439. PMID: 29668873; PMC7263836.

Bartz D, Chitnis T, Kaiser UB, Rich-Edwards JW, Rexrode KM, Pennell PB, Goldstein JM, O’Neal MA, LeBoff M, Behn M, Seely EW, Joffe H, Manson JE. Clinical Advances in Sex- and Gender-Informed Medicine to Improve the Health of All: A Review. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Apr 1;180(4):574-583. PMID: 32040165.

Trials and Studies

COcoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS)
VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL)
Women’s Health Initiative
Preventative Medicine Research Areas
Highlights of large database resources/cohorts

Additional Links

Center Co-Chairs

Dawn DeMeo, MD

Associate Professor, Medicine

Laura M. Holsen, PhD

Associate Professor, Psychiatry
Co-chair, Center for Women’s Health

Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc

Professor, Psychiatry
Vice Chair for Research, Psychiatry
Co-chair, Center For Women’s Health

Working Group

Ana Babic, PhD

Instructor, Epidemiology, DFCI

Deb Bartz, MD

Associate Professor, OB/GYN; Medicine, Women’s Health

Shalender Bhasin, MB, BS

Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension

Rachel Buckley, PhD

Research Fellow/Postdoc, Neurology, MGH

Rona Carroll, PhD

Assistant Professor, Medicine

Tanuja Chitnis, MD

Professor, Neurology

Marianna Daibes Rachid de Andrade, MD

Fellow, Medicine, Cardiovascular; Radiology

Nikki Haddad, MD

Psychiatry Resident Physician

Ryan Harari, PhD

Research Scientist and Faculty of Emergency Medicine

Elizabeth Henske, MD

Professor, Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Ursula Kaiser, MD

Professor, Medicine
Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension

Tamara Kaplan, MD

Assistant Professor, Neurology

Sergey Karamnov, MD

Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia; Director, Cardiac and Thoracic Anesthesia Research

Bharti Khurana, MD

Founder and Director, Trauma Imaging Research and Innovation Center
Associate Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School

Edward Kim, MD, MPH

Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery

Vesela Kovacheva, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

Meryl LeBoff, MD

Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension

Cindy Lemere, PhD

Professor, Neurology

Pamela Mahon, PhD

Assistant Professor, Psychiatry

JoAnn Manson, DrPH, MD

Professor, Medicine

Isabela Reis Marques, MD

Fellow, Medicine, Cardiovascular

Mary O’Neal, MD

Assistant Professor, Neurology

Richard Parad, MD

Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Newborn Medicine

Jesse Poganik, PhD

Instructor, Medicine, Genetics

Shadab Rahman, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Associate Neuroscientist, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Kathryn Rexrode, MD, MPH

Professor, Medicine
Chief, Division of Women’s Health
Co-Chair, Center for Women’s Health

Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD

Associate Professor, Medicine

Kevin Sanchez, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Medicine, Women’s Health

Ellen Seely, MD

Professor, Medicine, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension

Rimi Sen, MD

Assistant Professor, Pediatric Newborn Medicine

Camila Veronica Souza Freire, MD

Fellow, Medicine, Cardiology

Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD

Clinical Research Junior Faculty Representative, ROC

Scientific Director, First.in.Women, Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology

Mary Ann Tynan Research Scientist, Psychiatry

Paula Voinescu, MD

Assistant Professor, Neurology

Get Involved

If you are interested in joining the working group, please click here to submit an interest form. We plan to review the submissions once a year in February.

With questions or for more information about the Connors-BRI Center for Research on Women’s Health and Sex/Gender Medicine, email bri@bwh.harvard.edu.