The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have announced the establishment of the Center for Women’s Health Research and Innovation. The new center is dedicated to improving the state of women’s health by fostering innovation in research, education and clinical practice, while promoting community partnership and advocacy around health care for women. Special emphasis will be placed on serving the health care needs of women from underserved groups.
Sonya Borrero, an associate professor of medicine and clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named director of the new center. She stated that “the center brings together experts in women’s health across the lifespan, and includes researchers focusing on adolescent health, prenatal health, menopause and end-of-life care. Our multidisciplinary lens has allowed us to have a deeper appreciation of how women’s social and cultural contexts, as well as previous life and health care experiences, influence health and health care use. This understanding has enhanced our ability to provide woman-centered care – health care that meets the needs of women in the context of their everyday lives.”
Dr. Borrero added that “our faculty currently are researching topics ranging from gestational diabetes to finding strategies to help reduce unwanted pregnancies in girls in foster care. While we want our multidisciplinary approach to improve health care for all women, we are especially interested in making an impact on women from vulnerable populations, who often are underserved.”
Dr. Borrero is a graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.