First.In.Women® Researchers

In October 2024, Leilah Grant, PhD was named the Connors Center First.In.Women Research Scientist. With this funding, Dr. Grant’s projects will combine her expertise in sleep and circadian medicine with her interest in women’s health research. Her projects are investigating the effects of a circadian-based dietary intervention, time-restricted eating, on cardiometabolic, sleep and mood health in peri- and postmenopausal women, the association between ovarian reserve and sleep health, and the relationship between melatonin, a circadian hormone, and estradiol.

The First.In.Women® (FiW) Fellowship is a 2-year program led by our Associate Director, Primavera Spagnolo, MD, PhD, designed to equip early-stage investigators who wish to focus their careers on sex-differences and women’s health, with an emphasis in cardiovascular and/or vascular surgery, with critical tools to become leading researchers in the field through a mentored research project.

The FiW Fellow will participate in robust educational and career development programming which will enable them to develop an understanding of women’s health and how to incorporate sex as a biologic variable (SABV) when planning, analyzing, and reporting data.

In the first year, fellows will undergo research training with regular meetings to discuss works-in-progress and get ongoing support from the FiW team. In the second year, fellows will continue to work on research projects, as well as taking on teaching and other academic development opportunities (i.e. developing and giving lectures, writing a review article, learning how to peer review manuscripts, revising clinical protocols).

There are currently no open applications for the First.In.Women Fellowship.