Women's Health and the Environment over the Entire Lifespan (WHEEL)

A Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) Program

Announcing openings in our NIH-funded training program designed for junior faculty interested in research in women’s environmental health.

Environmental exposures can affect males and females differently, often by acting on hormonal systems. These exposures appear to have greatest impact during critical periods across the lifespan (including prenatal, perinatal, childhood, mid-life and late-life). Our training program, built around this concept, will support new and promising scientists interested in pursuing a research career in women’s environmental health.

The WHEEL program provides salary and research support for four junior faculty members for three years, with possible renewal for up to two additional years. It includes a structured curriculum of courses, mentoring, research, and grantsmanship that can be tailored to scholars’ individual needs.

Eligible applicants must:

Have an M.D., Ph.D. or its equivalent;
Have no more than six years of research or research training beyond their last doctoral degree;
Have completed any postgraduate training normally expected for a faculty appointment in their field (including clinical or postdoctoral fellowship training, if applicable);
Identify mentors with extensive research experience;
Be able to commit at least 75% effort (or 50% for surgical sub-specialties) to the program;
Have departmental support to cover 25% effort (or 50% for surgical sub-specialites) from non-federal sources of funding;
Not have been PD/PI on an R01, R29 or subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54) grant, independent mentored career development (K-series) grant, or equivalent research grant awards (except for R03 or R21);
Be a U.S. citizen or noncitizen national, or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence and possess an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-155) or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent citizen. Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Each scholar will receive $100,000 per year. Up to $75,000 may be used for salary and the remaining $25,000 for research support and / or fringe costs each year. We encourage applications from minority and disabled candidates and will consider both internal and external candidates.

To apply, applicants will be asked to submit:

a cover sheet (see application package) including the signature of their department chair;
three letters of reference (including one from their residency director, dissertation advisor, or post-doctoral mentor);
a transcript (from medical school or a relevant PhD program);
a current NIH Biosketch;
copies of published papers;
a 3-5 page personal statement on how WHEEL would advance their career goals.

Generally, new scholar appointments will have start dates four times a year: January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1. Please apply no later than one month before your preferred start date.

For additional guidance, please see our guidance sheet for applicants.

To download the application package, please click here.

For more information, or to apply, please contact Deborah Cory-Slechta, Ph.D.

Current Scholars

Emily S. Barrett, Ph.D.

Dr. Barrett is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and as a BIRCWH Scholar, her research will focus on how early environmental exposures affect female reproductive development. Dr. Barrett first became interested this topic during her doctoral work in Biological Anthropology at Harvard University. Her dissertation focused on understanding variation in reproductive function, particularly ovarian hormone levels, in relation to ecological factors including prenatal environment. She has since expanded her work to examine how prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals can shape subsequent reproductive development. To that end, she has worked on several large pregnancy cohort studies, including the National Children’s Study and the multi-center The Infant Development and the Environment Study (TIDES). As a BIRCWH scholar, Dr. Barrett will investigate these issues in several large existing cohorts including TIDES, the Study for Future Families, and the Women’s Reproductive Health Study (WRHS) and hopes to recruit for a new small-scale study as well.

Danielle S.W. Benoit, Ph.D.

Dr. Benoit is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering with a secondary appointment in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rochester and is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Musculoskeletal Research at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. As a BIRCWH Scholar, her research will focus on development of polymer therapeutic strategies to treat patients suffering from lead-associated osteoporosis. Dr. Benoit first became interested in this topic during her doctoral work in Chemical Engineering at the University of Colorado. Her dissertation focused on materials-based bone regenerative medicine approaches, exploiting three-dimensional hydrogel microenvironments to provide biochemical and soluble cues to mesenchymal stem cells, promoting osteogenic differentiation and enabling new bone evolution. She then expanded her research during a postdoctoral appointment in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, focusing on a systemic polymeric delivery system for nucleic acid drugs. As a BIRCWH Scholar, she will integrate facets of both of these training experiences and develop targeted polymeric delivery systems to locally deliver bone anabolic drugs that will circumvent lead-associated bone loss.