BIRCWH
Faculty Development
Duke/NCCU Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Program

 

The Duke University School of Medicine and North Carolina Central University (NCCU) are recipients of a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) grant.
 
The BIRCWH is a K12 Institutional Training Grant that provides faculty at Duke or NCCU 75% salary support for up to $75,000 per year for a minimum of two years.
 
The program provides research development support to pursue research careers related to women's health and builds upon existing interdisciplinary faculty relationships to foster productive and innovative collaborations.
 
The PI of the Duke/NCCU BIRCWH award is Eugene Oddone, MD and the Program Director is Phyllis Leppert, MD, PhD. The program is administered within Dr. Leppert's Office of Research in the Department of Ob/Gyn. An Advisory Board of Duke and NCCU faculty guides the BIRCWH program and BIRCWH mentors advise individual scholars
 
Junior faculty members interested in a research career in women's health are encouraged to apply.
 

Download instructions and application forms.

 

Online Courses

"The Science of Sex and Gender in Human Health"

 
Forward any questions to BIRCWH Administrative Assistant at William.Hackney@duke.edu

  

 

Duke/NCCU Current BIRCWH Scholars

 
Chad A. Grotegut, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Ob/Gyn, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Duke University School of Medicine
 
Dr. Grotegut earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and then his MD from Temple University, Philadelphia. He trainined in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Duke University where he served as Administrative Chief Resident. Following residency, Dr. Grotegut worked as a generalist obstetrician/gynecologist at the Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia. He then returned to Duke for a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine which he completed in 2009.
During his fellowship, Dr. Grotegut entered the laboratories of Drs. Howard Rockman and Amy Murtha. His research interests are in oxytocin receptor signaling, in particular the role of beta-arrestin in mediating desensitization of the oxytocin receptor and biased signaling. As a BIRCWH Scholar, Dr. Grotegut will continue this work looking at the role of biased beta-arrestin signaling in the myometrium. He will also complete the Duke Clinical Research Training Program in the Duke University School of Medicine. His clinical interstes include high-risk pregnancy management, prenatal diagnosis and medical complications of pregnancy.
 
Darlene K. Taylor, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, North Carolina Central University
Dr. Taylor earned her B.S. in Chemistry from Goucher College
 
Dr. Taylor simultaneously worked on her Master’s degree course work at North Carolina A&T State University while a Scholar in Residence at Rohm and Haas Company in Norristown, PA.
She then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she worked on Electronic Coupling Mechanisms in Cyclophane Biradicals before conducting her doctoral research in Polymer Physical Chemistry.
 
Upon completion of her doctoral degree, Dr. Taylor worked as a postdoctoral fellow at UNC‐Chapel Hill on the design and characterization of polymer materials for novel applications. Dr. Taylor joined the North Carolina Central faculty as an Assistant Professor in Chemistry in 2005. One of her research interests involves the design and evaluation of polymeric materials for targeted drug delivery in diseases related to women’s health.
 
She is focused on developing the hyperbranched polyglycerol platform for the targeted delivery of therapeutics to breast cells infected with cancer disease. The pharmacological evaluation of this polymeric platform is also a focus of her research.
 
 
Jennifer Wu, M.D., M.P.H
Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine


Dr. Wu earned her B.A. in Biology from Harvard University and her M.D. from the University of California at San Francisco.  She trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.  She then went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to begin her fellowship in the Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery.  Concurrently, she completed the NIH T32 Triangle Clinical Research Fellowship and received her Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology.
   
Upon completion of her fellowship, Dr. Wu joined the Duke faculty as an Assistant Professor in Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery.  Her clinical interests include urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, fecal incontinence, rectovaginal and vesicovaginal fistulas, and minimally invasive / robotic-assisted surgery.
 
Her research is focused on studying risk factors for pelvic floor disorders in order to identify potential prevention strategies.  In particular, she is interested in the role of childbirth injury in the development of urinary and fecal incontinence as well as pelvic organ prolapse.   She is also focused on applying decision modeling to the study of urogynecology by developing natural history models as well as conducting cost-effectiveness analyses.
 
Betty C. Tong, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery,
Duke University School of Medicine
 
Dr. Tong earned Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her M.D. from Duke University.  She trained in General Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD.  She then returned to Duke University for her residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
 
Upon completion of her Thoracic training, Dr. Tong joined the faculty in the Division of Thoracic Surgery.  Her clinical interests include lung cancer, esophageal cancer, pulmonary metastasectomy, benign thoracic conditions and minimally invasive thoracic surgery. 
 
Concurrently, Dr. Tong is pursuing a Master of Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Her research interests include gender differences in the treatment and outcomes for patients with lung cancer, clinical studies for lung and esophageal cancer and outcomes in thoracic surgery.
 
Duke/NCCU Previous BIRCWH Scholars
 
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