Call for Abstracts: Mind the Gap Conference 

Calling all trainees! Do you conduct research related to sex and gender differences or brain health and hormonal contraceptives? If so, submit an abstract here by October 24th to present a poster at our Mind the Gap: Hormonal Contraceptives and Brain Health conference. In addition to presenting at our Trainee Symposium you will have a chance to win one of three People’s Choice Poster Awards valued at $100, $75 and $50.

Episode two of our Field Trip mini series was released today! In it, our next guest Dr. Veena Sriram discusses the impacts of gender and intersectionality on health policy. Listen here or wherever you get podcasts to discover how power can impact health systems.

Oral Contraceptives and Emotions: How Progestin can Influence Mood and Socio-emotional Cognition

“There is plenty of research regarding the physiological effects of oral contraceptives on its users. In an age where female participants are being studied more and the scientific community has acknowledged its history of favouring male participants in the past, this type of research has become paramount as it represents a push towards sex inclusivity in literature that was previously non-existent.” Read more.

Behind the Science: Promoting Women’s Mental Health Through Social Interventions
 

“After I started working in the ICU, I got some experience with mental health nursing and I got to work with a variety of women, some of whom were incarcerated, survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence. This got me interested in mental health, and many of my teachers recommended me to enter the field.” Read more.

Oct 19th Trainee-Mentor Networking Session

This is the first of four trainee-mentor sessions that is part of the WHRC’s virtual Mind the Gap: Hormonal Contraceptives and Brain Health conference series. In this session, we will be joined by Dr. Lori Brotto to discuss communication etiquette within and outside academia.

10-11 am PDT | Read more | Register here

Oct 19th Virtual Networking and Mentoring for Trainees

Are you a trainee interested in the health of women, trans and non-binary people? Do you want to meet new mentors and other trainees from across the country? Join mentors who work in academia and government, and trainees from across the country for a unique virtual networking and mentoring event hosted by the Partnership for Women’s Health Research Canada.

9-10 am PDT | Read more | Register here

Oct 24th Sex and Circuits: A Systems Approach For The Identfication of Disease
States and Novel Targets

This women’s health seminar features Dr. Melissa L. Perreault who will discuss a systems approach for the identification of disease states and novel targets.  She will also address how brain waves are highly coupled to behavioural states and are emerging as potential biomarkers of neuropsychiatric disorders and therapeutic drug efficacy.

Oct 26th Imaging the Brain on Hormonal Contraceptives

This symposium is part of the WHRC’S virtual Mind the Gap: Hormonal Contraceptives and Brain Health conference series. We will hear from Dr. Nafissa Ismail, Dr. Caitlin Taylor, and Dr. Michael L. Lipton who will discuss pertinent topics related to the effects of hormonal contraceptives on brain structure and function. 

10-11:45 am PDT | Read more | Register here

Funding

Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative 

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has launched the Indigenous Scholars Awards and Supplements Pilot Initiative that will provide financial support to meritorious Indigenous students who have applied to the Canada Graduate Scholars—Master’s program (CGS M). The Indigenous Scholars Award is valued at $17,500 over 12 months. The Indigenous Scholars Supplement is valued at $5,000 over 12 months. Due Dec 1st 2022. Read more.
 

Research on the Health of Women of Understudied, Underrepresented and Underreported Populations 

The Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) at The National Institute of Health has announced the availability of administrative supplements to support research highlighting health inequities among women in the United States who are understudied, underrepresented and underreported in biomedical research. ORWH intends to commit up to $2 million annually for this program. The application budget should not exceed $140,000 in direct costs. Due Feb 1st 2023. Read more.

Take Action

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Institute of Gender and Health, and Women and Gender Equality Canada, are holding a Ideas Fair and Learning Circle that will be held virtually on October 25-26th, 2022, as part of the National Women’s Health Research Initiative. At this event, diverse groups of people will meet and share their stories and ideas about health and wellness in an accessible, culturally safe, trauma-informed and non-stigmatizing space with access to psychological support at any time. Register here.

 

News

Research

We’d like to formally welcome the following new members to our cluster. We’re happy to have you working alongside us to support women’s health!

• Maria Pia, PhD student, Monash University (Australia). 

• Sophie Arseneault, undergraduate student, McGill University (Canada).

• Sakshi Kharbanda, master’s student, University of Calgary (Canada).

• Chinmayi Balusu, student trainee, Columbia University (USA).

• Catie Futhey, medical student, University of British Columbia (Canada).

• Kerry Marshall, PhD student, University of British Columbia (Canada). 

• Kelsey Piersol, student trainee, University of New Brunswick (Canada).

• Badal Pattar, Master’s student, University of Calgary (Canada).

• Elan Fortin-Eglitis, undergraduate student, Simon Fraser University (Canada).

There is a desperate need to grow the discipline of women’s health research to overcome the concerning gaps in knowledge that jeopardize women’s health. Please donate today to catalyze women’s health research worldwide. Your gift will support: 
 
• Publications, education and academic opportunities that will enable groundbreaking knowledge translation to help transform women’s health on a global scale
• Vital advocacy efforts to change the policies and practices that are impeding women’s health research