Boston Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health Symposium
Symposium Agenda
Date/Time/Location
Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Time: 9:30a.m. – 3:15p.m.
Location: Boston University Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences 17th Floor, 665 Commonwealth Ave., Boston MA 02215
9:30 – 10:00 Registration & Coffee
10:00 – 10:15 Welcome
- Boston University BIRCWH Leadership
- Harvard BIRCWH Leadership
- Tufts BIRCWH Leadership
10:15 – 11:00 Scholar Lightning Oral Abstract Presentations with Posters – Session 1
Format: 5 minutes per Scholar
- Brittany Givens: Elucidating Reproductive Cell Responses to Environmentally Prevalent Endocrine Disruptors
- David Combs: The Origin Sites for Uterine Contractions in Pregnant Mice
- Jamil Lane: Sex-Specific Associations Between Prenatal Essential Metal Signatures and Infant Autonomic Stress Reactivity and Regulation
- Jessica DiSilvestro: Development of Health Education Material to Promote Cervical Cancer Screening in the Boston-Area Community
- Liana Woskie: Cross-Border Spillover of U.S. Abortion Restrictions on Misoprostol Retail Pharmaceutical Markets
- Megan McLaughlin: Cardiovascular Health and Depression among Postpartum Women in the US: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- Tristesse Burton: MADE for DASH: Rethinking Prenatal Diet Quality for GDM Prevention
- Stephanie Gusler: Empowering Mothers Involved with Child Protective Services: Piloting an Online Single-Session Growth Mindset Intervention
11:00 – 12:00 Keynote Speaker Presentation
Format: 45 minute presentation and 15 minutes for Q&A
- Keynote Speaker: Harriette GC Van Spall, MD, MPH, FRCPC
- Topic: Opportunity and Unintended Consequences with Use of AI to Advance Women’s Health Research
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch & Networking
1:00 – 1:45 Scholar Lightning Oral Abstract Presentations with Posters – Session 2
Format: 5 minutes per Scholar
- Alexandra DeJong Lempke: Neuromuscular Impairments among Adolescent Females with Low Energy Availability Indicators at 6-months Post-Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
- Destiny Tolliver: Structural Factors Associated with Depression for Formerly Incarcerated Mothers
- Jessica Busler: Relationships Among Brain GABA, Cytokines/Hormones, and Self Reported Eating Behavior in Midlife Women
- Mary Whipple: A Single Activity Bout, Not Frequent Breaks, Lowers Blood Pressure Compared to Prolonged Sitting Regardless of Sex: The STEP Up T2D Study
- Michelle Pebole: Developing a Trauma Informed Exercise Intervention for Women with Histories of Sexual Violence
- Rebecca Rudel: The Association Between Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Older Adults
- Theodora Pappa: Dissecting Sex Differences in Tumor Micro-environment in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
- Xin Hu: Trends and Factors Associated with Palliative Radiation Modality Selection Among Medicare Beneficiaries with Bone Metastases from Breast and Lung Cancers
1:45 – 2:15 Poster Session
2:15 – 3:15 Breakout Sessions
Format: 3 small group sessions focused on various women’s health research topics
Overall learning objectives:
- To develop new potential collaborations with BIRWCH colleagues from across institutions.
- To learn new strategies for developing interdisciplinary collaborations to advance women’s health research.
- To learn from colleagues about approaches to optimal funding strategies in the current funding environment.
Breakout session topics:
- AI in Women’s Health: Translational Opportunities, Risks, and Team Science
- Building and Sustaining Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Women’s Health Research
- Women’s Health Career Strategies in the Current Environment: Choosing the Right Grant Mechanism and Path to Independence and Sustainability
3:15 – 3:20 Closing Remarks
Oral Abstract Lightning Presentations
Alexandra DeJong Lempke – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
“Neuromuscular Impairments among Adolescent Females with Low Energy Availability Indicators at 6-months Post-Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction”
Brittany Givens – University of Kentucky Pigman College of Engineering
“Elucidating Reproductive Cell Responses to Environmentally Prevalent Endocrine Disruptors”
David Combs – Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
“The Origin Sites for Uterine Contractions in Pregnant Mice”
Destiny Tolliver – Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
“Structural Factors Associated with Depression for Formerly Incarcerated Mothers”
Jamil Lane – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
“Sex-Specific Associations Between Prenatal Essential Metal Signatures and Infant Autonomic Stress Reactivity and Regulation”
Jessica Busler – Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
“Relationships Among Brain GABA, Cytokines/Hormones, and Self Reported Eating Behavior in Midlife Women”
Jessica DiSilvestro – Tufts University School of Medicine
“Development of Health Education Material to Promote Cervical Cancer Screening in the Boston-Area Community”
Liana Woskie – Tufts University School of Medicine
“Cross-Border Spillover of U.S. Abortion Restrictions on Misoprostol Retail Pharmaceutical Markets”
Mary Whipple – University of Minnesota School of Nursing
“A Single Activity Bout, Not Frequent Breaks, Lowers Blood Pressure Compared to Prolonged Sitting Regardless of Sex: The STEP Up T2D Study”
Megan McLaughlin – University of California San Francisco
“Cardiovascular Health and Depression among Postpartum Women in the US: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey”
Michelle Pebole – VA Boston Healthcare System
“Developing a Trauma Informed Exercise Intervention for Women with Histories of Sexual Violence”
Rebecca Rudel – Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
“The Association Between Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Older Adults”
Stephanie Gusler – University of Kentucky Center on Trauma and Children
“Empowering Mothers Involved with Child Protective Services: Piloting an Online Single-Session Growth Mindset Intervention”
Theodora Pappa – Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
“Dissecting Sex Differences in Tumor Micro-environment in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma”
Tristesse Burton – University of Illinois Chicago
“MADE for DASH: Rethinking Prenatal Diet Quality for GDM Prevention”
Xin Hu – Emory University School of Medicine
“Trends and Factors Associated with Palliative Radiation Modality Selection Among Medicare Beneficiaries with Bone Metastases from Breast and Lung Cancers”
Poster Session
- Alexandra DeJong Lempke – Neuromuscular Impairments among Adolescent Females with Low Energy Availability Indicators at 6-months Post-Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
- Brittany Givens – Elucidating Reproductive Cell Responses to Environmentally Prevalent Endocrine Disruptors
- David Combs – The Origin Sites for Uterine Contractions in Pregnant Mice
- Destiny Tolliver – Structural Factors Associated with Depression for Formerly Incarcerated Mothers
- Dylan Janson – TBD
- Holly Crowe – Migraine Trajectories Across the Menopausal Transition by Aura Status in the Nurses’ Health Study 2
- Jamil Lane – Sex-Specific Associations Between Prenatal Essential Metal Signatures and Infant Autonomic Stress Reactivity and Regulation
- Jessica Busler – Relationships Among Brain GABA, Cytokines/Hormones, and Self Reported Eating Behavior in Midlife Women
- Jessica DiSilvestro – Development of Health Education Material to Promote Cervical Cancer Screening in the Boston-Area Community
- Kipruto Kirwa – Fine Particulate Matter Exposure Above the 2024 US National Ambient Air Quality Standard and Pregnancy Outcomes
- Kyoko Konishi – Sex Differences in the Longitudinal Impact of Oxidative Stress and Mitochondria Metabolism on Memory
- Liana Woskie – Cross-Border Spillover of U.S. Abortion Restrictions on Misoprostol Retail Pharmaceutical Markets
- Mary Whipple – A Single Activity Bout, Not Frequent Breaks, Lowers Blood Pressure Compared to Prolonged Sitting Regardless of Sex: The STEP Up T2D Study
- Megan McLaughlin – Cardiovascular Health and Depression among Postpartum Women in the US: An Analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- Miguel Jimenez – Robust Biohybrid Microbial Devises for Estradiol Detection that Function Directly in Whole Blood
- Mihoko Tanabe – Improving Cervical Cancer Screening and Follow-up of Abnormal Results among Refugee and Immigrant Women: Applying PRISM in Pre-implementation
- Oluchi Ekenze – Sex-specific Trends in Stroke: The Framingham Heart Study
- Rachel Ferrigno – Fentanyl is Teratogenic to Sea Urchin Embryos
- Rebecca Rudel – The Association Between Food Insecurity and Malnutrition in Older Adults
- Sidney Pereira – Expression of Odd Skipped Related 1 (Osr1) in the Mouse Uterus Increases During Diestrus and is Responsive to Progesterone
- Simone Gill – Mobility During Flat Ground Walking and Obstacle Crossing One Year After Bariatric Surgery
- Stephanie Gusler – Empowering Mothers Involved with Child Protective Services: Piloting an Online Single-Session Growth Mindset Intervention
- Theodora Pappa – Dissecting Sex Differences in Tumor Micro-environment in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
- Tristesse Burton – MADE for DASH: Rethinking Prenatal Diet Quality for GDM Prevention
- Xin Hu – Trends and Factors Associated with Palliative Radiation Modality Selection Among Medicare Beneficiaries with Bone Metastases from Breast and Lung Cancers