January 2026 Newsletter
Save the Date! The 20th Annual VCU Women’s Health Research Day will be held on April 28th, 2026 from 1:00-4:30 PM at the Larrick Student Center. The program, presented by the VCU Institute for Women’s Health, includes a plenary symposium entitled “Midlife Matters: Integrating Menopause Research, Innovation, and Impact”, a poster session showcasing women’s health research by VCU faculty and students, poster awards, and a reception. Visit our website for more information. To Register, click here. To Submit an Abstract, click here.
Save the Date! The Health of Women 2026 Conference, presented by the VCU Institute for Women’s Health, will be held on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa – Short Pump. This is a national continuing education conference for clinicians covering many aspects of women’s health, including reproductive health, cardiovascular health, bone health, mental health, and breast health. Registration is open!
IWH Training Survey
- Please complete this survey to help us gather data on training and mentoring activities of IWH Affiliate Faculty. Contact Dr. Heather Jones (hjones7@vcu.edu) with any questions.
Upcoming IWH Research Development Group Meetings
- Nutrition and Women’s Health Research Development Group: Thursday, January 29 at 11:00am
- Cancer in Women Research Development Group: January TBD
- Addiction and Women’s Health Research Development Group: Friday, February 6 at 2:30pm
- Female Athlete Research Development Group: Wednesday, February 11 at 11:00am
- Perinatal Health Research Development Group: Wednesday, February 18 at 10:00am
- Interpersonal Violence & Trauma Research Development Group: March TBD
To be added to the list for any of the Research Development Groups or to suggest a new group, please contact molly.hyer@vcuhealth.org.
News from IWH leadership and affiliate faculty
Congratulations to all of our IWH faculty who were listed as “Virginia’s Top Doctors” by Virginia Business:
- Addiction Medicine – Caitlin Martin, MD, MPH
- Adolescent Medicine – An Pham, MD, MPH
- Breast Surgery – Kandace McGuire, MD
- Cardiology – Hem Bhardwaj, MD; Sangeeta Shah, MD, FACC, FASE
- Hematology Oncology – Mary Helen Hackney, MD
- Internal Medicine – Devon Wojcikewuch, MD
- Neurology – Myla Goldman, MD, MSc
- Obstetrics and Gynecology – David Chelmow, MD; Christine Isaacs, MD; Myrlene Jeudy, MD; Nicole Karjane, MD
- Orthopedics – Stephen Kates, MD
- Pediatric Critical Care Medicine – Alia Marie Iqbal O’Meara, MD
- Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation – David Cifu, MD
- Psychiatry – Melissa Bui, MD
- Radiation Oncology – Emma Fields, MD
- Surgical Oncology – Amelia Grover, MD
Stephen Kates, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and IWH Affiliate Faculty, has been named interim dean for the VCU School of Medicine.
Kandace McGuire, MD, Chief of Breast Surgery at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, was featured in Richmond’s CBS6 News discussing new technology to detect lymphedema in breast cancer patients.
Congratulations to Ana Diallo, PhD, MPH, RN, Assistant Professor in the Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems and former BIRCWH Scholar, and Lisa Shah, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor in the Department of Adult Health and Nursing Systems, for their recent NIH awards.
Upcoming Events
The Inaugural National Conference on Women’s Health (NCWH 2026) is being held March 11-13, 2026 in Washington D.C. The deadline to submit abstracts is January 20th. Click here for more information regarding abstract submissions.
VCU Women’s Basketball SupportHER Basketball Game vs. University of Richmond will be held Sunday, February 1st at noon. Tickets start at $13 and can be purchased here. The SupporHER game is traditionally held to advance awareness of women’s sports.
Massey Cancer Center Women and Wellness Luncheon: Tuesday, February 3rd at 11:00am at The Jefferson Hotel. The keynote speaker is Olympian and cancer survivor, Chaunte Lowe, who will share her experience training for the Olympics during her cancer treatment and her campaign to raise awareness for cancer research, early detection, and prevention. Individual tickets to the event are $175 and can be purchased here.
Research Study Recruitment Corner
Are you looking to recruit participants for active studies? Please fill out the Research Study Recruitment Corner Form if you are interested in having your study included in the newsletter.
- Deciphering the Cognitive and Neural Underpinnings of Risk-Taking in Eating Disorders (RISK-EAT)
- Recruiting adolescent (ages 12-17) and young adult (ages 18-25) females with and without bulimia nervosa
- Two study visits are required:
- Visit 1: (in person or virtual) will be a ~3 hour screening visit
- Visit 2: (in person at VCU CARI center) will be a ~3-4 hour visit
- Two-week follow-up of online surveys and games
- Participants will be compensated $75 per visit and additionally compensated for engagement in the follow-up period
- Please contact Kelsey Hagan, PhD, LP (Kelsey.Hagan@vcuhealth.org) for more information.
Follow our new social media pages!
The VCU Institute for Women’s Health has a new social media presence on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Connect with us to stay up to date on the latest IWH news!
Do you have exciting news to share? We want to hear from you! Please share any recent career developments (grants, publications, promotions, media stories) using the Newsletter Submission Form. We will feature these highlights in the next IWH newsletter.
Help us celebrate excellence by nominating standout faculty or yourself to be the next IWH Affiliate Faculty of the Month. Use the Newsletter Submission Form, and be sure to include 1-2 sentences highlighting their impact, achievements, or what makes their work stand out.
To subscribe to the newsletter and join the IWH Listserv, email Kellyn Moody at Kellyn.Moody@vcuhealth.org.