Women's Reproductive Health Research Program

The WRHR program builds on the training and research successes of UCSF, the institution’s commitment to women’s health, and the availability of extensive supporting resources to develop a training environment for scholars who will have sustained contribution to the field of women's reproductive health. This partnership affords a unique opportunity to offer a training program that can meet the long-term goal of increasing both the amount and quality of multidisciplinary translational research conducted on women’s health and the number of individuals with successful independent research careers in women's health.

UCSF has a rich research environment with an extensive array of ongoing research projects in women’s reproductive health. Nationally and internationally renowned women’s health scholars can be identified in almost every school, department, and research unit. Because of this broad-based campus agenda for women’s health, UCSF was designated one of the original six National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health by the Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service Office on Women’s Health.

To meet the challenge of nurturing physician-scientists interested in pursuing careers in academic medicine, UCSF was chosen by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health to be a Women’s Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) Career Development Center (see RFA)

Scholar positions offered by the UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences are for two to five years of intensive research training. The department offers a mentored, structured scholarship program of sufficient duration, adequate relevant course work, immersion into a vibrant, intellectually challenging, academic research community and “hands-on” research experience to give scholars the ability to be productive, independent and funded junior faculty members, and ultimately lead to rewarding, successful and productive academic careers.

Requirements

Applicants must be planning an academic career and:

• be a physician holding the M.D. or D.O. degree
• have completed postgraduate residency training in obstetrics-gynecology
• have completed or be in the final year of postdoctoral fellowship training in obstetrics and gynecology, if the candidate has chosen to subspecialize, or advanced training in clinical research
• identify an approved mentor or mentors with extensive research experience
• be able to devote at least 75% effort to conducting research and research career development
• not be or have been a PD/PI on an R01, R29 or subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54) grant, independent mentored career development (K-series) grants, or other equivalent research grant awards
• be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident

Application Instructions

Successful applicants will have a strong track record that demonstrates their commitment to developing a research career in women’s health or reproductive sciences. Candidates must propose a feasible training and research plan, considering the resources and mentors available at UCSF. Eligible applicants must have completed a U.S. residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 

Please complete all sections of the application described below. Use Arial, 11 point font, and 1⁄2 inch margins. The application should be no longer than 4 pages in length, excluding the cover page and references. The page lengths listed below are suggestions for each section. 

Submit the cover page, 4-page application, references, and current CV to Hilary Payton ([email protected]) by June 1, 2026 as a single PDF. Applications will be reviewed and interviews will occur in-person or by video in August 2026. The WRHR appointment begins July 1, 2027.

Cover Page

Please include your name, email address, mailing address, mobile phone number, current position and institution, names and contact information for your references (see below), and other relevant information such as circumstances that adected your research productivity, or economic or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.

References

Two faculty members should provide letters of support for your application. At least one letter should be from a faculty member who has direct knowledge of your research track record. Confidential letters of support should be emailed directly from the letter writer to Hilary Payton ([email protected]) by June 1, 2026.

Candidate and Research Plan

Overview of Candidate (1/2 page):

• Briefly summarize your training and current position.
• Describe your long-term research career goal(s), including the type of research you plan toconduct, the problem(s) your research will address, and the potential impact your research will have on health, health outcomes, and/or health inequities.
• Explain how conducting the research project proposed in this application will prepare you tocompete successfully for extramural funding including NIH grants, and provide some possibleexamples of what those future projects would be.

Track record (1/2 page):

• Describe any previous training in clinical, translational, or basic science research.
• Give examples of opportunities you’ve had to engage in research and describe your role in these projects.
• Highlight examples of your productivity (e.g., pursuing an original research question, analyzing data, and presenting or publishing your findings). Describe grants, primary manuscripts, and major honors/awards.

Research plan (2 pages):

• Explain the background and significance of your proposed research.
• Describe how this proposal is innovative.
• List your Specific Aims.
• Describe the design and methods of your proposed research. Include possible resources you will need to implement the projects (eg databases, research coordinators, etc).

Training plan (1/2 page):

• Discuss 2-3 faculty who could serve as mentors for your WRHR training experience, the role they would play in your research and career development, and your experience to date with these mentors.
• For candidates who have mentors at outside institutions, please include at least one mentor at UCSF.
• All candidates should describe the plan for your team of mentors to work together.
• Explain what additional training you need to achieve your research goals. Identify specific areas where you have deficiencies and describe how you will obtain additional training in each area.
• List courses you plan to take during your time as a WRHR Scholar. Resources that may be useful to review are the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics Education and Training opportunities (https://epibiostat.ucsf.edu/education-training) and options for research certificates or Masters degrees (https://epibiostat.ucsf.edu/clinical-epidemiological-research).

Career potential (1/2 page):

• Comment on the role you hope to play in your scientific field in the next 5-10 years.
• Explain how you will benefit from the WRHR program, how it will contribute to your research career, and how your time as a WRHR Scholar will prepare you for a career of scientific inquiry.

For information, please contact UCSF WRHR Program Directors Teresa Sparks, MD, MAS or Katherine Fuh, MD, PhD

Principal Investigator:
Andrea Jackson, MD, MAS
Professor and Chair
Edward C. Hill, M.D., Endowed Chair in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
University of California, San Francisco

Program Directors:
Katherine Fuh, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Director of Basic and Translational Research and John A. Kerner Chair in Gynecologic Oncology
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences

Teresa Sparks, MD, MAS
Associate Professor
Director of Clinical Research and Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellowship Director
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences