CIRWH Directory
Expertise in Women's Health

CIRWH Leadership

Abbey Berenson MD, PhD Abbey Berenson
Director, CIRWH
Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Berenson is a senior clinical researcher, gynecologist, and mentor, with an international reputation for her studies of health issues among reproductive-aged women. Her current research centers around cancer prevention in women, with an emphasis on human papillomavirus-related cancers.  Over the past 29 years, she has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and has been continuously funded through sponsors including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Defense (DoD), Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), and several private foundations. As the Director of CIRWH, Dr. Berenson realizes the center’s mission to promote, stimulate, and support interdisciplinary research related to the health of women across the life span. As part of this role, she serves as Principal Investigator for the K12 junior faculty training program, Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH). To date, the BIRCWH program has trained 27 BIRCWH Scholars and is in its 19th year of funding.

Ramkumar Menon, PhD Ramkumar Menon
Director of Education, CIRWH
Division Director, Obstetrics and Gynecology Basic Science & Translational Research
Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Menon has worked for over 27 years in the areas of reproductive health, perinatal/reproductive immunology, and genetic epidemiology, with an emphasis on spontaneous preterm birth and preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes. His laboratory is currently investigating the mechanisms of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions leading to epithelial mesenchymal transition in response to oxidative stress and infection/inflammation in vitro, a major factor in the preterm birth pathway. This multidisciplinary project employs cutting-edge organ-on-chip devices to model fetal amniochorion membranes to understand the mechanisms of amnion membrane remodeling. As the Director of Education for CIRWH, Dr. Menon serves as a mentor to numerous CIRWH Fellows and helps organize the annual CIRWH Spring Lecture Series.

CIRWH Fellows Directory

This list of faculty personnel summarizes the breadth of work being conducted in women's health at UTMB Health. If you are interested in becoming a CIRWH fellow and would like to request a listing in this directory, please contact Abbey Berenson, MD, PhD.

Click on the (+) below for a short summary of each investigator's area of research interest and expertise:

Contact Us

Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health
John Sealy Annex, Suite 3.108
University of Texas Medical Branch
Galveston, TX 77555-0587
Office: (409) 772-2417
Email Dr. Abbey Berenson