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Research at CWHR

Traditionally, medical experts assumed that a woman’s body functioned quite similarly to a man’s. Today, research has shown that sex and gender differences have a profound impact on an individual’s overall health – biologically and psychologically.

The Center for Women’s Health Research at UNC is committed to understanding these differences and advancing the health of women through research. CWHR has met this challenge, since 2000, by bringing in over $50 million in research funding. The Center continually supports the continued training and career development in the research of women’s health.

CWHR’s research has resulted in:

  • Discovering progesterone’s impact on preterm delivery
  • Insights into how internal and external stress (allostatic load) impact pregnancy
  • Understanding how certain drugs impact men and women differently
  • Increasing knowledge of the “biological clock” through ovarian aging
  • The discovery that episiotomies are less effective than previously thought
  • Determining societal knowledge of the importance of oral care during pregnancy
  • Developing insights on obesity across the generations and the influence of biological sex differences

The knowledge gleaned from these efforts does not remain in-house. The Center for Women’s Health Research continues to share information with the public through social media and the biennial North Carolina Women’s Health Report Card.

Over the past 3 years, the center has:

  • Brought in an average of $5 million in grant money each year
  • Averaged an annual operating budget of $410,878
  • Operated with an average four full-time employees a year
  • Maintained a 12:1 ratio of grant dollars to operating expenses

Over the past 2 years, the center has:

  • Contributed an average of $214,660 a year of indirects to the UNC School of Medicine
  • Supported principal investigators and their studies (pre-award, post-award, clinical trials) by contributing an average of 49% of Center’s operating budget
  • Averaged 4350 hours a year in services to principal investigators and their studies (includes pre-award, post-award, clinical trials)

Learn more about CWHR’s Current Research and Completed Research.

If you’re an investigator interested in learning more about CWHR, please visit the Support page.