Highlights of NIH women's health and sex differences research, 1990-2010

From the Introduction: As the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) prepared for the events celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2010, at which time a revised research agenda would be unveiled with goals and strategies for the future, it seemed equally important to highlight some of the progress and achievements in women's health research during the years of ORWH's existence. Looking back over so much that had been accomplished during these decades, as recorded in the voluminous biennial reports (see Appendix) that describe the totality of ORWH programs and selected highlights from the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs), the information was remarkable in its scope. It was decided that as the strategic plan for future research was introduced, it was important to have a distillation of landmark studies and seminal research or programs that represent some of the multiple aspects of past progress in women's health and sex differences research. What started as a collection of two or three brief examples from each IC was eventually expanded into this extensive and exciting document. This occurred because of the overwhelming and enthusiastic response of the ICs through the NIH internal advisory Coordinating Committee on Research on Women's Health (CCRWH), composed of IC directors or their designees. The ORWH proudly presents this report, entitled Highlights of NIH Women's Health and Sex Differences Research, 1990-2010, in which the ICs themselves have identified their best examples of women's health and sex differences research. It is even more encouraging to note that these highlights by no means are intended as a comprehensive list, but represent "snapshots" of examples from the 20 years of ORWH's existence. It should also be noted that woven across the report are such overarching themes as genetic and molecular research, clinical trials and translational studies, prevention research, global health concerns, and minority health and health disparities.