Featured Image: 2024 Annual Symposium Speakers, pictured from left to right: Kara McKinley, PhD; Florian Fintelmann, MD; Izzuddin Aris, PhD; Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc; Vivian Ota Wang, PhD, FACMG, CGC;  Rohini Dutta, MBBS, MPH; Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD; Dr. Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, PhD (Note: Kendra Harris, MD, is missing from photo)

The 7th Annual Connors Center Research Symposium was held in the Zinner Breakout Room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Wednesday, October 30, 2024. It was held in conjunction with the Brigham/Harvard Reproductive Outcomes of Stress & Aging (ROSA) Center, an NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences. Over 300 registered from the MGB system, Connors Center network, Greater Boston community, and beyond. Participants gathered in-person and virtually to celebrate the important work being done by Connors Center investigators. Speakers included the keynote, Vivian Ota Wang, PhD, FACMG, CGC, Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Research in Women’s Health (NIH ORWH), as well as recipients of Connors Centers grant awards and fellowships, ROSA Center associate scientists, and a Mass Life Sciences Center First Look awardee.

Watch the Recording Here

Kathryn Rexrode, MD, MPH provided introductory remarks on two mentored career-development programs for women’s health investigators: Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) and the ROSA Center’s Career Enhancement Core (ROSA CEC). Dr. Rexrode is Chief Academic Officer and Chief of the Division of Women’s Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She was followed by Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD, Associate Director of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology, and Scientific Director of the First.In.Women® Precision Medicine Platform. Dr. Spagnolo provided brief remarks announcing the new MGB-wide Sex/Gender-Informed Collaborative Think Tank (SIRCTT), whose mission is to create and foster alliances that leverage and expand the scientific strengths in sex/gender-informed and women’s health research across the MGB system via collaborative networking, educational and training opportunities for early career researchers. 

Vivian Ota Wang, PhD, FACMG, CGC delivered the keynote address entitled “Redux, Remix, and Essential: Why Sex and Gender Matter in Women’s Health Research.” Dr. Ota Wang is the Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Research in Women’s Health (NIH ORWH). During the symposium, she shared insights into the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and the crucial need of sex/gender-stratified research. Dr. Ota Wang also provided information on the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research and other NIH-related Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) and Notices of Special Interest (NOSIs). She ended her talk with a call to action, urging attendees to champion the cause of sex- and gender-varied research for the sake of addressing inequities, disparities, and injustices. 

Dr. Hadine Joffe provided introductory remarks and facilitated the Q&A session with Dr. Ota Wang. Connors Center investigators then presented their research in a series of presentations and Q&As. 

Session 1: 

“Regeneration in the Uterus”, presented by Kara McKinley, PhD (Mass Life Sciences Center First Look Awardee); 

“The Development and Pilot of an Educational mHealth Tool for Pregnant Women with High-Risk Prenatal Indications to Cesarean Delivery to Enhance Birth Preparedness in Mbarara, Uganda”, presented by Rohini Dutta, MBBS, MPH (Global Women’s Health Fellow); 

“The Race and Abortion Attitudes in Resident Education (RA2RE) Study”, presented by Kendra Harris, MD (Complex Family Planning Fellow). 

The session introduction was provided by Cindy Liu, PhD, Director of Psychosocial Stress, Diversity, and Health at the Connors Center. 

Session 2: 

“Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Lung Cancer Screening”, presented by Florian Fintelmann, MD (Collaborative IGNITE Awardee; Co-I: Lydia Pace, MD); 

“Perceived Stress in Relation to Reproductive and Cardiometabolic Health Among Women in the EARTH Study”, presented by Lidia Minguez-Alarcon, PhD (WHISPR Awardee, ROSA CEC Scientist); 

“Neighborhood Vulnerability and Women’s Health – Insights from Project Viva”, presented Izzuddin Aris, PhD (ROSA Scholar). 

The session introduction was provided by Dr. Spagnolo, Associate Director of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology, and Scientific Director of the First.In.Women® Precision Medicine Platform.  

Following the symposium, speakers and attendees enjoyed a reception to foster further discussion and networking. 

Thank you to all speakers, moderators, and attendees for supporting and engaging with the important research funded by the Connors Center and for marking this event a tremendous success!