Month: January 2024

ORWH Offers Science Policy Travel Award for OSSD

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ORWH Announces Science Policy Scholar Travel Award for a Junior Investigator to Present at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences

ORWH is offering a Science Policy Scholar Travel Award to support the development of one junior investigator who is focused on women’s health or sex and gender differences and is also interested in research policy. The travel award will provide $6,000 to support the junior investigator’s attendance at the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) Annual Meeting  on May 6–9, 2024, in Bergen, Norway.

ORWH requests that junior investigators interested in the travel award submit an abstract on a policy-related matter connected to women’s health or sex and gender differences for consideration as a poster, oral session, or symposium at the OSSD Annual Meeting. A panel of experts will review the abstracts, and the author of the selected abstract will receive the travel award. Attending the OSSD meeting will be a unique opportunity to network with leading scientists and clinicians working to advance the inclusion of sex and gender in research and sex- and gender-related policy.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • Must possess a baccalaureate or higher degree, be a medical student from any health-related discipline, be a postdoctoral trainee, be an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow, be a medical resident, be a member of the uniformed services or National Guard, or be an investigator who is no more than 5 years past a doctoral degree or residency.
  • Must be the first author on the abstract submitted to OSSD.
  • Cannot be a federal employee.

Investigators from underrepresented populations are encouraged to apply.

HOW TO APPLY
To apply for the travel award, scholars must submit an abstract related to research policies relevant to women’s health or sex and gender differences on the OSSD Awards page . (The abstract must be accepted for a poster, oral session, or symposium at the meeting to receive the travel award.) The types of applicable abstracts include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Studies of the effects of such policies on promotion of the research;
  • Identification of policy gaps that might promote such research and projection of their effects; and
  • Identification of specific research disciplines and/or research topic areas that require more work to promote women’s health and the study of sex and gender differences.

Scholars should check the OSSD website  for updates on the application timeline. Once they have submitted an abstract, they should send an email with the subject line “NIH ORWH and OSSD Science Policy Scholar Travel Award Application for 2024” to Dr. Samia Noursi at samia.noursi@nih.gov and include the required attachments:

  • A copy of the abstract submitted to OSSD, including the title and authors (in a Word document).
  • Their curriculum vitae (in a Word document). They should list all NIH grant support, if applicable.
  • Their mailing address, phone number, and email address.
  • A cover letter (in a Word document) stating:
    1. Their eligibility (see “Eligibility Requirements”);
    2. Their interest in pursuing policy research on women’s health and/or sex and gender differences; and
    3. Their career goals.
  • A letter of support from their academic adviser, mentor, or fellowship director (in a Word document).

Applications are due by February 2, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

FOR QUESTIONS
For questions about the travel award, scholars should contact Dr. Samia Noursi, Associate Director for Science Policy, Planning, and Analysis at ORWH at samia.noursi@nih.gov.  Learn more here.

ORWH will notify the recipient of this award on March 1, 2024, via email.

Upcoming Webinar

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The NIH Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office will be hosting a lecture on How do we develop meaningful measures for SOGI? Asking sexual orientation and gender identity on health surveys: Findings from cognitive interviews in the United States across sexual orientations and genders, as part of our Scientific Webinar Series, with speakers Anthony Pho PhD, MPH, ANP-C, Nancy Bates, MA, and Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS. 

This event will take place on February 27, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern via Zoom Webinars, and registration is required to attend!

Questions assessing sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are not consistently asked on U.S.-based health surveys and, as a result, sexual and gender minority (SGM) people are often invisible, obscuring insight into their health. In this webinar, we will review findings from the first phase of a multi-phase study to inform and improve SOGI demographic measurement. In this qualitative study, we sought to explore how people across different sexual orientations and genders preferred to be asked about SOGI on U.S.-based health surveys. Using in-depth cognitive interviews with 14 non-SGM (cisgender heterosexual men and women) and 30 SGM participants (cisgender sexual minority people as well as transgender and gender diverse people of any sexual orientation), we identified four major themes relating to SOGI disclosure: (1) purpose for asking, (2) context of information collection, (3) distrust of the government, and (4) fear. We will discuss our findings and frame next steps for our research agenda to improve SOGI demographic measurement. This research was funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office [R21MD015878, 2020–2023].

Additional information about the event, including speaker biographies and registration, can be found on the SGMRO Scientific Webinar Series webpage. This event will be recorded and shared on the SGMRO website.

Individuals with disabilities who need Sign Language Interpreters and/or reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact Shyam Patel, NIH SGMRO, via e-mail at shyam.patel@nih.gov.