Events

Monday, December 9, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required Register Here Understanding chemical communications between cells: Perspectives from in vivo to ex vivo and back to in vivo Stuart Tobet, PhD Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences Director, CSU School of Biomedical Engineering Interim Head, Department Environmental & Radiological Health Sciences Basic Science Director,…

Monday, November 11, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required Register Here Extensive and divergent effects of menopausal sleep fragmentation and estradiol withdrawal on cardiometabolic health Shadab A. Rahman, PhD Lead Investigator, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham & Women’s Hospital Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School

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…

The Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology hosted the 7th annual Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Stress Program of Research (WHISPR) Symposium and Awardee Presentation in the Zinner Breakout Room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024. It was held in conjunction with the Brigham/Harvard Reproductive Outcomes of Stress &…

Monday, April 29, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required Register Here Consumer product chemicals and cardiovascular disease risk across the reproductive life course Tamarra James-Todd, PhD Mark and Catherine Winkler Associate Professor of Environmental Reproductive Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Monday, March 4th, 2024   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   The Bornstein Amphitheater and via Zoom Improving Cardiometabolic Health Through Sleep Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, FAHA, CCSH Associate Professor of Nutritional Medicine, Department of Medicine Director, CUIMC Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Friday, May 10th 2024 | 11:00 am |  The Westin Boston Seaport District Learn More Here The 2024 Women’s Health Luncheon Keynote Speaker: Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH As vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, Chelsea Clinton works alongside the foundation’s leadership and partners to improve lives and inspire emerging leaders across the United States and…

Monday, February 12, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Hypertension in Women: What Makes Them So Susceptible and How Do We Increase Awareness? Jennifer C. Sullivan, PhD Professor, Department of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia Dean, the Graduate School, Augusta University

Wednesday January 17, 2024 | 12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required Register Here Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Role of Stress, Sex Differences and the Microbiome Lin Chang, MD Vice-Chief, Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases Program Director, UCLA GI Fellowship Program Co-Director, G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience Director, Clinical Studies…

The 6th Annual Connors Center Research Symposium was held in the Zinner Breakout Room at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Thursday, November 30, 2023. 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 150 registered from the…

The Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology hosted the 6th annual Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Stress Program of Research (WHISPR) Symposium and Awardee Presentation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Thursday, May 4th, 2023. Over 100 individuals registered to attend in person and virtually from the Connors Center, BWH, the MGB system,…

The 2022 Connors Center Annual Research Symposium was held at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Tuesday, November 29th in conjunction with the Brigham/Harvard Reproductive Outcomes of Stress & Aging (ROSA) Center, an NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence on Sex Differences. Over 100 attendees from the Connors Center, BWH, MGB System, and external community gathered…

Monday, December 12, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View the Recording Here Eicosanoids As Immune-Inflammatory Mediators of Sex Differences in Health and in Disease Susan Cheng, MD, MMSc, MPH Erika J. Glazer Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Population Science Director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging  Director of Public…

Tuesday, November 1, 2022 | 10-11 AM | Virtual View the Recording Here The Specialized Centers of Research Excellence on Sex Differences, or SCORE, program is the only NIH cooperative agreement program supporting disease-agnostic research on sex differences. Each center serves as a national resource for translational research to identify the role of biological sex…

Wednesday, November 9, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View the Recording Here Genetic links between hot flashes and psychiatric disorders suggest new opportunities for treatment and shared mechanistic pathways Laramie Duncan, PhD Assistant Professor, Stanford University Director, Integrative Mental Health Lab Dr. Duncan’s work is at the intersection of psychology, statistical genetics,…

Monday, October 24, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View the Recording Here Gender/Sex Differences in Sleep: A Model for Precision Medicine Susan Redline, MD, MPH Peter C. Farrell Professor of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health Director of the Programs in Sleep and…

Learn more about the upcoming funding opportunities offered by the Connors Center through the end of 2022 and into 2023. Connors Center team members will provide an overview of the programs, requirements, and review followed by the opportunity to ask questions. This session will be recorded and can be viewed afterwards. October 7th, 2022 at…

Wednesday, September 14, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View the recording here. Get out of your own way and get things done – strategies for success in academic medicine   Emily Oken, MD, MPH Alice Hamilton Professor and Vice Chair Director of Faculty Development Director, Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the…

Wednesday, July 20, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Bioenergetic Consequences of the Loss of Ovarian Function Wendy M. Kohrt, PhD Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine Nancy Anschutz Chair In Women’s Health Research Acting Director, Eastern Colorado VA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center Associate Director, Center…

Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Stress Program of Research (WHISPR) 5th Annual Symposium and Awardee Presentations May 25th, 2022, 3:00 to 4:30 PM Keynote Address: Charting a path forward towards an inclusive research agenda: the Asian American research paradox Karen Kim, MD Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Medicine University of Chicago The 5th annual WHISPR…

Monday, June 06, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Addressing the impact of Reproductive Aging in Aging Studies: Lessons from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Siobán D. Harlow, PhD Professor Emerita of Epidemiology and Global Public Health Professor Emerita of Obstetrics and Gynecology Director, Center for…

Thursday, May 26, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Sex determinants of obesity and metabolic dysregulation   Presenter: Karen Reue, PhD Professor and Vice Chair, Human Genetics Associate Director, UCLA/Caltech Medical Scientist Training Program David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA About the ROSA Center Career Enhancement Core Seminar Series: This…

Monday, April 25, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Domino Hypothesis vs. Parallel Symptomatic Outcomes: Investigating Commonly Co-occurring Symptoms of Menopause-related Vasomotor, Sleep and Mood Disturbance Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc Executive Director, Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology Paula A. Johnson Professor of Psychiatry in the…

Monday, March 28, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Neuroendocrine pathways mediating the effects of stress on reproductive function Presenter: Ursula Kaiser, MD Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension George W. Thorn, MD Distinguished Chair in Endocrinology, BWH Professor of Medicine, HMS Director of the Brigham Research Institute Dr.…

Monday, January 24, 2022   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Sex Differences for Skeptics:  How can we Increase our Chances of Identifying True Sex and Gender Differences in Health?   Presenter: Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public…

Wednesday, December 1, 2021   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Presenter: Andrea Hevener, PhD Professor of Medicine Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of California-Los Angeles Sidney Roberts and Clara Szego Roberts Endowed Chair in Molecular Endocrinology UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Hypertension DGSOM Metabolism…

Monday, November 15, 2021   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Presenter: Michelle Mielke, PhD Professor of Epidemiology, Dept. of Quantitative Health Sciences, Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Michelle M. Mielke, Ph.D. is currently Professor of Epidemiology and Professor of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic. She is also the…

Sex, Gender, and Race: Intentional Inclusion of Representative Populations in Medical Research Annual Research Showcase of the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology co-Sponsored by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Diversity & Inclusion December 6, 2021, 3:00 – 5:00pm, virtual Register here:  https://tinyurl.com/CCWHShowcase Download the Agenda here! Keynote Address:…

Wednesday, October 20, 2021   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Presenter: Aimee McCrae-Clark, Pharm.D., BCPP Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina Dr. Aimee McRae-Clark is a Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Neurosciences and Director of the Office of Research Integrity at…

Wednesday, September 22, 2021   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Presenter: Elizabeth B Klerman, MD, PhD Professor, Harvard Medical School Research Investigator, Massachusetts General Hospital Physician, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Director, Analytic and Modeling Unit, Division of Sleep Medicine At Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Harvard…

Wednesday, July 21, 2021   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Presenter: Olivia I. Okereke, MD, MS MGH Research Scholar 2021-2026 Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Director, Geriatric Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Dr.…

Thursday, June 3, 2021   |   12:00-1:00pm   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here Presenter: Bizu Gelaye, PhD, MPH Associate Professor, Departments of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School The Chester M. Pierce MD Division of Global Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Gelaye’s research…

  Connors Center for Women’s Health & Gender Biology Presents:  Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Stress Program of Research (WHISPR) 4rd  Annual Symposium and Finalists’ Pitch Presentations “Investigating physiologic and psychologic stress in women’s health and disease” Featuring Keynote Speaker:  Elissa Epel, PhD Professor and Vice Chair Department of Psychiatry, UCSF Director, Aging, Metabolism and Emotions Center Consortium…

Wednesday, March 24, 2021   |   12:00-1:00PM   |   Virtual   |   Registration Required View Recording Here   Presenter: Tracy L. Bale, Ph.D Professor of Pharmacology Director of Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health and Brain Development University of Maryland School of Medicine President, International Brain Research Organization Tracy L. Bale’s research focuses on the role of…

Podcast  Our podcast series, Connors Center Conversations: Igniting Change for the Health of Women, explores the cutting edge in sex- and gender-informed research and how to translate these discoveries into better and more precise care for women. Find the podcast here.  Episode 1:  The Fundamentals of Difference with Hadine Joffe: On this episode of Connors Center Conversations, Hadine Joffe discusses sex- and gender differences…

On June 10, 2020 the Connors Center hosted a webinar focused on sex and gender factors in the context of COVID-19 research and care. This webinar featured conversations and panels with experts from Brigham Health. A recording of the webinar is available here:

On Friday November 13th, 2020, the Connors Center hosted Telemedicine for Women: Challenges, Promises and the Road Ahead, a webinar that included panels of experts discussing how telemedicine has evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic and how to adequately provide quality virtual healthcare to women. Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc, Executive Director of the Connors Center moderated…

The Connors Center is a recipient of the Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) grant, forming the ROSA Center. The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) is is hosting the SCORE 2020 Annual Meeting Keynote Address, which will take place virtually, and is open to the public.   The keynote address, by Dr. Jocalyn…

The Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, is pleased to announce our first webinar focused on sex and gender factors in the context of COVID-19 research and care. This webinar, the first of two planned for 2020, will feature conversations and panels with…

On May 14, Dr. Hadine Joffe led the Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds. Her talk, “mood disorders in women: what are the effects of female reproductive hormones on the brain?” explored topics on depression, sleep disturbance and hot flashes during peri and post-menopause.

Connors Center Executive Director Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc moderated a session for the virtual World Medical Innovation Forum, titled “Digital Therapeutics: Current and Future Opportunities” which focused on the use of digital therapeutics during COVID-19 and how it will impact the use of digital treatment in the future. A recording of the session is available…

Due to precautions around the COVID-19 outbreak, we regret to inform you that the 3rd Annual WHISPR Symposium scheduled for April 9, 2020 has been cancelled. We are disappointed that we will not have the opportunity to bring together our network of dedicated faculty, researchers, fellows, postdocs and staff to celebrate and recognize their scientific…

On February 4, 2020, members of the first Summit Advisory Committee gathered to discuss the 2020 National Summit on the Health of Women. Invested members of academia, clinical practice, bio-pharma, venture capital, and policy gathered to to advise, guide and inform the direction and content of the 2020 National Summit on the Health of Women.…

There’s no better way to celebrate the holidays after the stress of the season has passed. The Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology hosted its holiday party on January 16th, and were joined by friends, family, and colleagues to celebrate their work and partnerships over the last year. They gathered to share food…

The Connors Center is excited to co-host the next Women’s Brain Initiative Seminar on Wednesday, January 22, 4:00 – 5:00PM. This seminar will feature speaker Steven Kanes, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer of Sage Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Kanes is responsible for Sage’s clinical-stage programs and is the company’s primary liaison with the investor community. A link…

The Connors Center 2nd Annual Research Data Blitz took place on Tuesday, November 19th from 2:30-5:00pm in the Marshall Wolf Conference Room at BWH. Twelve Connors Center leaders, fellows and grantees shared exciting updates on their important work in the field of women’s health and sex difference research, followed by Q&A with members of the…

The Connors Center hosted its annual Women’s Health Luncheon on Friday, May 10th. The program, titled “Heart of the Matter: Insight into Women’s Cardiovascular Health” featured keynote speaker Tara Westover, New York Times best selling author of Educated: A Memoir. Other featured speakers included Connors Center Executive Director Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc and BWH Cardiologists Michelle O’Donoghue,…

The Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology hosted the 2nd Annual Symposium and Finalists’ Pitch Presentations for the Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Stress Program of Research (WHISPR) on April 3rd, 2019 A keynote presentation entitled “Stress and Postpartum Depression: Lessons from Preclinical Models” was given by Jamie Maguire, PhD, the Kenneth and JoAnn G.…

On January 17th, the Connors Center hosted Laura Huang, PhD, Associate Professor of Business Administration from Harvard Business School for her presentation, “Impact of Physician Gender on Cardiac Care for Women: Potential Role of Bias and Parallels between the Healthcare and Business Environments.” Dr. Huang presented findings from her 2018 study published in Proceedings of the…

The Connors Center’s 1st Annual Research Retreat took place on Thursday, November 15th, 2018 from 3:00-5:30pm. Eight Connors Center leaders, fellows and grantees shared exciting updates on their important work in the field of women’s health and sex difference research, followed by Q&A with members of the academic community. The program for the event can…