The Tynan Fund, endowed in the name of Mary Ann Tynan— a pioneer in her field as the third woman elected partner at Wellington Management Company and an exceptional leader in her volunteer roles at Brigham and Women’s and Faulkner Hospitals–is awarded to BWH physicians and scientists who are driven to improve the health of women.
Behnood Bikdeli, MD, MS
Tynan Research Scientist, Associate Physician, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Research focus: Assessment of sex differences in presentation, treatment strategies, outcomes, and response to therapies in thrombotic cardiovascular diseases
Leilah Grant, PhD
Tynan Research Scientist, Associate Physiologist in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Research focus: The effects of sleep and circadian physiology on metabolic and endocrine health and wellbeing, particularly in postmenopausal women.
The Global Women’s Health Fellowship Award promotes research pertinent to the advancement of the health of women worldwide, elevates the visibility of the field of global women’s health, and trains clinicians, research fellows, and early-career clinical investigators for successful careers that further the health and well-being of women globally through innovative and meaningful research. The program objectives are to train leaders who:
2024 GWHF Applications are now closed. Check back later for information on when the 2025 Applications will be opened. For reference, see the application materials below:
Global Women’s Health Fellowship Program Description
Global Women’s Health Proposal Form
To apply, send the completed proposal form and your CV to Natasha Minor, NMinor@bwh.harvard.edu
Rumbidzai Mushavi, MD
(2024-Present)
Instructor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Harvard Medical School
Exploring provider comfort with PrEP and contraceptive service integration in south-west Uganda
In 2019, the Connors Center transitioned the BWH Connors Center Global Women’s Health (GWH) Fellowship from a two-year research training fellowship to a one-year mentored award program which enables clinical and research fellows and early career clinical investigators to develop and apply research skills through the implementation of a research project in the area of global women’s health. The aims and objectives of the program remain the same.
One fellow will be selected annually to receive a $10,000, one-year award. The GWH Fellow also benefits from mentorship through regular meetings with the Fellowship Director, Lydia Pace, MD, MPH, mentoring in research methods from Janet Rich-Edwards, ScD, MPH, Connors Center Director of Lifecourse Epidemiology, and through feedback and guidance received at Connors Center programs from the community of senior Center Affiliates who are leaders in their respective women’s health and sex/gender disciplines.
The fellowship award program is open to current and pending clinical and research fellows of Brigham and Women’s global health residency and fellowship programs, as well as targeted Harvard Medical School graduate education programs. The selection process is carried out in coordination with the applicant’s primary department at BWH or HMS, and the GWHF application must be endorsed by the applicant’s primary department in order to apply. BWH early-career investigators (i.e., Instructor or Assistant Professor) with an established track record or interest in global and/or women’s health research and scholarship (e.g., publications or current or prior professional positions or affiliations in global health) may be considered on a case-by-case basis after consultation with the Program Director. The fellowship supports investigations of conditions that are exclusive, predominate, or differential in women and in areas where women experience a particular disadvantage based on gender inequalities and other social determinants (e.g. HIV and AIDS, displacement due to war and disaster).
Please direct questions about the program to Fellowship Director Lydia Pace, MD, MPH or Connors Center Program Coordinator Jacqueline McCormick.
This two-year fellowship provides obstetrician-gynecologists with the opportunity to build on their clinical skills in abortion and family planning and to develop research expertise in these areas. The fellowship is based in the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology and is a collaboration between the Center, the BWH Dept. of OB/GYN, and Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.
The clinical component of the fellowship includes: all methods of pregnancy termination; diagnostic methods to confirm uterine and tubal pregnancy; anesthesia and pain control; management of complications; all methods of contraception currently available and under investigation; sterilization; and gynecologic surgery.
The research component of the fellowship provides fellows with a strong foundation in clinical research methods, including study design and statistical analysis. In addition to these skills, fellows are expected to conduct a structured clinical research project as part of their fellowship experience and complete either a Master of Public Health (MPH) or Master of Science (SM) degree program at the Harvard School of Public Health. Fellows are expected to travel to a low-resource setting to gain exposure to issues in family planning and challenges in the provision of care in restricted settings.
Opportunities also exist for fellows to gain exposure to contraceptive development at the Population Council in NY and to complete rotations at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva and the American College of Obstetrician Gynecologists (ACOG) in Washington D.C. The fellowship accepts one new fellow each academic year.
Please visit the Family Planning Fellowship website for more information.
The Women’s Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry trains expert clinicians in the psychiatric care of women and in the assessment and treatment of psychiatric symptoms linked with female reproductive cycle transitions. Fellows benefit from the training and mentoring of Fellowship Director Dr. Polina Teslyar.
Marissa Caan, MD
(2024-2025)
The Division of Women’s Health/Connors Center is the home site for the Harvard-wide, NIH-funded, Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) award. Entitled “Hormones & Genes in Women’s Health: From Bench to Bedside”, the BIRCWH Program supports scholars investigating the role of hormones and genes in understanding sex differences in disease and those disorders specific to women by providing up to five years of funding and mentored research from Harvard faculty in basic, translational, or clinical aspects of women’s health. The success of the BIRCWH Program is measured by the ability of the scholars to develop careers as independent investigators, including successfully obtaining research support and publishing high quality work with substantial contributions to understanding issues important to women’s health.
