Our goals include increasing research in women's health issues at UC, increasing cross-departmental, multi-investigator, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research and increasing extramural funding for women's health research. We are working toward creating a community of researchers by establishing an infrastructure through our research survey and database, and by bringing together researchers from across disciplines. We offer an ongoing program of research forums to address these issues, which include bringing in outside experts to speak, highlighting our own researchers, and bringing together clinical and basic science faculty in a "works-in-progress" format.

2002 Pilot Grants Announced

Women’s Health Program, University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine
Announced the 3rd round of Pilot Grant Opportunities in Breast Cancer and the Environment for 2002.
This year the pilot grants were co-sponsored by the UC Women’s Health Program and Breast Cancer Angels, Inc. - a non-profit, volunteer organization that raises funds to support breast cancer research. The $46,500 was divided among two winners in May 2002:

Howard Saal, MD, Professor, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Department of Human Genetics
"Environmental Risk Factors for Breast Cancer in Women with Inherited Predisposition"

Susan Waltz, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Developmental Biology, "Ron in Breast Cancer"

RFP (pdf)
Cover Page (pdf)

2001 Pilot Grant Awards

The Women's Health Program and The Barrett Cancer Center announced the second round of pilot grant proposals in women's cancers for 2001. Research was sought in basic, translational, or clinical research including epidemiology and outcomes. All proposals that addressed the prevention, causation, diagnosis or treatment of women’s cancers to be given serious consideration although proposals that addressed the role environmental factors may play in the development of women’s cancers and interdisciplinary proposals were given extra weight. Any medical center faculty was eligible to apply. The $50,000 was divided among three winners in April 2001:

Pankaj Desai, Ph.D., College of Pharmacy, for "Molecular Mechanisms for Increasing CYP3A4 Expression by Taxanes"
Shiuh-Wen Luoh, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology for "HER-2/Neu Amplification in Breast Cancer: Who is the Driver?"
Elizabeth Shaughnessy, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Surgery, for "Nuclear Receptor Coactivator E6AP in Breast Tumorigenesis."

Pilot Grants Awarded in 1999

Four UC researchers were awarded grants as a result of the 1999 Request for Proposals in Research on Breast Cancer and the Environment, our first annual Women's Health Pilot Grant Program. All proposals addressing breast cancer were given serious consideration although we particularly encouraged proposals that addressed the role environmental factors may play in the causation of breast cancer. These grants were co-sponsored by UC Women’s Health Program and The Barrett Cancer Center. Funds were made available to the Women’s Health Program from the UC Adele Noyes Thomson Fund for Women’s Health.

Nira Ben-Jonathan, PhD, Cell Biology, award of $24,750 for "Suppression of Breast Cancer Metastases by Anti-Angiogenic Factors."
Joanna Groden, PhD, Molecular Genetics, award of $23,071 for "Characterization of APC Function in the Mouse Mammary Gland."
Giovanni Pauletti, PhD, Pharmacy, award of $24,896 for "Effective Chemotherapy of Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells."
Nelson Horseman, PhD, Molecular and Cell Physiology, award of $22,257 for "Interactions of Prolactin and TGF-B in Breast Maturation.

Clinical Trials

See the Women's Health Program Clinical Trials page for information, listings and links regarding clinical trials at UC and beyond. If you are a member of the University of Cincinnati faculty contact Donna Corday for information on how you can list your women's health related clinical trial on the Clinical Trials page.

Funding Opportunities

Click here for the women's health funding opportunities page

Grant Writing Grant Writing Advice - The Grant Doctor's pick of the best grant writing & funding sites
Science's Next Wave

Past Research Forums

Breast Cancer Research Update - March 26, 2002
Pankaj Desai, Ph.D., College of Pharmacy, for "Molecular Mechanisms for Increasing CYP3A4 Expression by Anticancer Drugs Used in Breast Cancer Therapy"
Shiuh-Wen Luoh, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology for "HER-2/Neu Amplification in Breast Cancer: Who is the Driver?"
Elizabeth Shaughnessy, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Surgery, for "Nuclear Receptor Coactivator E6AP in Breast Tumorigenesis."
Presentations of 2001 pilot grant recipients sponsored by the Women's Health Program and The Barrett Cancer Center

Dean’s Distinguished Lecturer - September 5, 2001
“Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?”
An Institute of Medicine Report
Huntington F. Willard, Ph.D
President and Director, The Research Institute of University Hospitals of Cleveland
Director, Center for Human Genetics, University Hospitals of Cleveland
Professor, Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University
Member, Committee on Understanding the Biology of Sex and Gender,
Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences
Sponsored by : UC College of Medicine Women’s Health Program, UC College of Medicine Dean’s Office, UC College of Medicine Dept of Physiology, CHMC Division and Program in Human Genetics
Read the IOM Report

Breast Cancer Research Update - October 19, 2000
"Suppression of Breast Cancer Metastases by Anti-Angiogenic Factors," Nira Ben-Jonathan, PhD; "Characterization of APC Function in the Mouse Mammary Gland," Joanna Groden, PhD; "Effective Chemotherapy of Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells,” Giovanni Pauletti, PhD; and "Interactions of Prolactin and TGF-B in Breast Maturation,” Nelson Horseman, PhD - Reports of 1999 Pilot Grants cosponsored by Barrett Cancer Center and UC Adele Noyes Thomson Fund for Women’s Health

Identification of Defective Protein Processing and NF-KB Activities in Autoimmunity
Denise Faustman MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard University Medical School; Director, Immunobiology Lab, Massachusetts General Hospital; Coeditor-in-Chief, Journal of Women's Health and Gender-Based Medicine; Executive Vice-President, Society for Women's Health Research was our invited speaker, cosponsored with the Division of Immunology, February 9, 2000.

Exposures and Breast Cancer
Carol Rice, PhD, Associate Professor of Environmental Health. moderated this forum for researchers interested in multidisciplinary research on September 13, 1999.

WHI: Data Mining for Grants and Projects: A Resource for Researchers
James H. Liu, MD, Principal Investigator for the Women’s Health Initiative, presented the WHI and its potential as a resource for UC researchers, June 21, 1999.

Role of Environmental Factors in the Initiation or Progression of Breast Cancer
Discussion meeting May 13, 1999 explored interest in pursuing multidisciplinary research.
Moderators: Eula Bingham, PhD and Sue Heffelfinger, MD, PhD.

Funding for Women's Health: A Washington Perspective
Joanne Howes, political consultant with Bass and Howes, Washington, DC, discussed recent trends in Congressional appropriations and NIH priorities for women's wealth - February 18, 1999.

Networking

1999 Women's Health Research Survey This survey was sent to UC faculty in the College of Medicine, College of Nursing and Health, College of Pharmacy and the College of Allied Health Sciences. Of the 967 surveys that were sent , 161 were returned (17%). Approximately 59% of the respondents were male; 41% were female.

Respondents to the survey are alerted to women's health research forums at UC, upcoming women's health research series at UC, funding opportunities in women's health, and upcoming women's health national meetings of special interest.

This survey has been sent to new faculty in 2000, 2001 and 2002.