4/23/24: The Connors Center 7th Annual WHISPR Symposium

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 & Aging (ROSA) Center, an NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences. Over 100 individuals registered to attend in person and virtually from the Connors Center, the MGB system, the greater Boston community, and beyond.

Watch the Symposium Here

WHISPR aims to advance our understanding of how physiologic and psychological stress affect women’s health and disease by supporting pilot projects, facilitating interactions among WHISPR investigators and other stress researchers, and hosting an annual scientific symposium for the BWH academic community. Since 2017, the WHISPR program has awarded 12 early career investigators with yearlong awards and hosted 6 symposia to discuss stress and women’s health. The WHISPR Awards and Symposium are made possible through the Gretchen S. Fish Fund for Women’s Health and Stress Research.

Aimee McRae-Clark, PharmD, BCPP, delivered the keynote address, entitled “Sex, Stress, and Relapse.” Dr. McRae-Clark is a dually appointed Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Neurosciences and Director of the Office of Research Integrity at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). In addition, she is a Research Health Scientist at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center. Dr. McRae-Clark currently leads the MUSC Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) on Sex Differences (U54DA016511) which integrates basic, clinical and behavioral approaches to gain insight into sex differences and the relationship between addictive drug use, stress and the underlying neural circuitry with an emphasis on opportunities to identify novel therapeutic strategies. In her talk, Dr. McRae-Clark discussed the differences in presentation of substance use disorders (SUD) by sex/gender, how the trends and risks of SUD in women differ from those in men, and the need to further investigate the roles of hormones and stress factors when treating SUD patients and preventing relapse. Hadine Joffe, MD, MSc (Executive Director of the Connors Center) provided introductory remarks and Cindy Liu, PhD (Director of Psychosocial Stress, Diversity, and Health) facilitated the Q&A session with Dr. McRae-Clark.

Joji Suzuki, MD provided brief remarks on “Substance Use Disorder Treatment Research at BWH: Improving Existing Interventions and Systems of Care.”  He discussed models of SUD treatment and the necessity for SUD care access to have as little barriers as possible. Dr. Suzuki highlighted the work being done at BWH to improve SUD care via a “no wrong door” system, including touch points within PCP/Inpatient/ED teams, the low-barrier and low-threshold Bridge Clinic, and comprehensive specialty and primary care with informed addiction consults. Dr Joji Suzuki is the founding Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Laura Holsen, PhD, Director of Research Training at the Connors Center, provided introductory remarks.

Following these talks, the 2024 WHISPR Awardees were introduced and each provided an overview of their awarded projects. Sergey Karamnov, MD is a member of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, and is the Director of Cardiac & Thoracic Research and the Director of the Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellow Research Program. He is also an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Karamnov presented “The Role of Socioeconomic and Psychosocial Stress Determinants in Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation: A Female-Specific Risk Score.” Rose Olson, MD is a member of the Research Faculty at the Trauma Imaging Research and Innovation Center, an Associate Physician in the Division of Global Health Equity, an Associate Scientist in the Division of Women’s Health, and an Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She presented “Uncovering the Link Between Sexual Assault and Chronic Pain Conditions (CPC) in Women” Laura Holsen, PhD, introduced the awardees and facilitated the Q&A session with both awardees. The event closed with a networking reception.

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