CIRWH News & Announcements

Dr. Antonio Bianco announced this year's Clinical Research Directed Initiative (CRDI) awarded projects, including Dr. Abbey Berenson and Dr. Fangjian Guo's Rio Grande Valley HPV project.

CPRIT 2025 Annual Report: Published Research Findings include Abbey Berenson's analysis of U.S. cancer data from 2001-2021 to track how ovarian cancer rates have changed over time among premenopausal and postmenopausal women as reported in Cancers on June 24, 2025. The study included all females 20 years and older in the U.S. with cases of microscopically confirmed malignant ovarian cancer.

CIRWH 2026 Grand Rounds present "AI-based integration of omics, wearable devices, and electronic health records for maternal and child health" by guest speaker Nima Aghaeepour, PhD.

Abbey Berenson is appointed Vice Dean for Research at the John Sealy School of Medicine.

Dr. Berenson spoke about "Increasing HPV Vaccine uptake in Texas" at GTX-GEMS 11/7/2025

CIRWH 2026 Grand Rounds present "The Reproductive Consequences of Stress: From Anovulation to CVD" by guest speaker Sarah L. Berga, MD.

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics published research on provider perspectives on HPV vaccine hesitancy in the post-COVID-19 era

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) renewed Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) mentored career-development program at UTMB Health for FY2026.

Dr. Susan Chubinskaya announced UTMB's 2025 Lifetime Achievement in Research Awards which includes CIRWH's Dr. Abbey Berenson.

CPRIT awards Dr. Abbey Berenson a $2.4 million cancer prevention grant for expanding opportunities for HPV vaccination in medically underserved areas of East Texas.

Cancers journal published research on trends in endometrial cancer incidence among premenopausal and postmenopausal women in the United States between 2001-2021

CPRIT 2024 Prevention Outreach report includes Abbey Berenson's HPV school outreach in the Rio Grande Valley; two versus three dose trial; and study examining parental attitudes towards earlier vaccine initiation.

CPRIT 2024 Annual Report: Published Research Findings include Abbey Berenson's preliminary findings of an ongoing, single-blinded, randomized trial of the 9vHPV vaccine among individuals 15 to 26 years of age in the United States, published in NEJM Evidence on January 23.

2025 CIRWH Spring Lecture Series with guest speakers Dr. Bo Jacobsson, Dr. Maged Costantine, Dr. Charles Lockwood, and Dr. Katherine Waugh.

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention journal published research on Cervical Cancer Screening Utilization among Kidney Transplant Recipients, 2001 to 2018

Dr. Abbey Berenson presented Ruth L. Kirschstein keynote address at the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health annual BIRCWH meeting in Bethesda, MD on October 1, 2024.

JAMA published research to evaluate temporal trends and geospatial patterns of HPV vaccination initiation and up-to-date status as well as HPV-related cancer rates at county and HSR levels in Texas

Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine published research on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances possible correlation with Chlamydia trachomatis

Cancer Epidemiological, Biomarkers and Prevention published research on Cervical cancer screening utilization among kidney transplant recipients, 2001-2018

CPRIT awards Dr. Abbey Berenson a $2.4 million cancer prevention grant for the expansion of a multi-pronged intervention to increase HPV vaccination rates among adolescents from rural and medically underserved areas in Texas.

CPRIT 2023 Annual Report: Prevention Highlights include Abbey Berenson' grant to provide up-to-date, accurate, and credible data to inform the design of programs and interventions to address the high rate of incomplete HPV vaccine series.

“No study has previously examined the non-inferiority of the 9vHPV vaccine among 15- to 26-year-olds. Thus, our findings are beginning to fill an important gap of knowledge within the medical field,” said lead researcher Dr. Abbey Berenson, a UTMB professor within the department of OB/GYN and director of the UTMB Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women’s Health. “This study was designed to fill that gap of knowledge.”

Journal of Medical Virology published research on one dose versus two doses COVID-19 vaccine for breakthrough infection prevention.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health (CIRWH) presents the 2024 CIRWH Spring Lecture Series with guest speakers Dr. Heidi Brown, Dr. Ananth Karumanchi, and Dr. Udo Markert.

CPRIT awards Dr. Abbey Berenson a $2.4 million grant for the continuation and expansion of a highly successful postpartum HPV vaccination program at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health) conducted in collaboration with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV).

Vaccines journal published research examining the independent effects of individual- and neighborhood-level factors on incomplete HPV vaccination rates in the United States (U.S.) among those aged 27-45 years.

FY2023 Pilot grants recipients for new research initiatives in strategic areas of gender differences among aging populations.

The Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) 2022 Annual Report on Prevention Outreach featured Dr. Abbey Berenson's HPV prevention outreach project. The project investigated the impact of HPV vaccination on the incidence of HPV-related OPSCC in the U.S. among male and female adults from different age groups.

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Women's Health (CIRWH) presents the 2023 CIRWH Spring Lecture Series with guest speakers Dr. Marc Ferrer, Dr. Melissa Herbst-Kralovetz, and Dr. Adrian Erlebacher.

Rovnat Babazade, Gabriela Halder, and Lauren Richardson receive CIRWH FY22 seed grants for women's health research

AIDS journal published research on Medicare enrollees with disabilities and HIV.

JAMA Oncology published research examining the association of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination with incidence of squamous cell carcinomas of the anus in a vaccine-eligible US cohort.

Frontiers in Pain Research published research on Mexican Americans with multimorbidity

Cell Reports published RNA research

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics published research on importance of reminders as part of a multi-component intervention to increase completion of the HPV vaccine series.

The CPRIT 2021 Annual Report: Awards & Prestigious Appointments for CPRIT Grantees report and the Prevention Outreach in FY 2021 report recognize Abbey Berenson for being named a 2021 Immunization Champion by ACOG, as well as being featured in the National Cancer Institute's official blog Cancer Currents for her HPV vaccination projects.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded Dr. Abbey Berenson $1.9 million academic research grant for "A Randomized, Controlled Trial Comparing the Immunogenicity of 2 doses vs 3 doses of the 9-Valent HPV Vaccine in Females 27 to 45 Years of Age."

The JAMA Network Open published research study on an increase in Z-hypnotic as well as SSRI and SNRI prescriptions in both men and women, along with an increase in benzodiazepine prescriptions in women, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic onset. Findings suggest a substantial mental health impact of COVID-19-associated mitigation measures.

The American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias published research assessing gender differences in prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) among community-dwelling Mexican Americans ≥80 years.

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics published research on the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among young, low-income, diverse populations.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recognized Dr. Abbey Berenson as a leader in maternal and adult immunization in their list of 2021 Immunization Champion Award Winners.

AIDS published research study assessing the effect of newly diagnosed HIV infection on overall mortality among Medicare beneficiaries for both disabled and older adults (≥65 years old) based on their original entitlement.

Clinical Infectious Diseases published oral HPV research by Abbey Berenson, Jacqueline Hirth, and Mihyun Chang.

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics published research study examining whether a HPV educational intervention could improve nursing students' HPV knowledge, beliefs, and comfort with counseling.

The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published research showing the inclusion of human papillomavirus vaccination in routine postpartum care is a relatively easy way to reach many adults not vaccinated at a younger age and could help address low vaccination rates among young women in the United States, including hard-to-reach populations.

Texas Department of Health and Human Services recognized Bay Colony Pediatrics as Number 1 in Galveston County for 2019 vaccination rates, putting that clinic in the Top 10% statewide.

The Journal of Women’s Health published research on how reasons for birth control method choice may inform interventions that help young women choose the best method for them.

Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics published research examining infant vaccination education preferences in a population of low-income pregnant women by ethnicity, nativity, and language.

JAMA Network Open published BRCA test results research by Fangjian Guo, Matthew Scholl, and Erika L. Fuchs.

BMC Public Health published research study on gaining a better understanding about gender, school-level socioeconomic status, and children's cardiorespiratory fitness.

Contemporary OB/GYN article features Dr. Jacqueline Hirth's research on how young women choose contraceptives.

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) renews Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) mentored career-development program at UTMB Health for FY2020.

Cancer Medicine published HPV herd protection research by Abbey Berenson, Jacqueline Hirth, and Mihyun Chang.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded $1.9M cancer prevention grant to Abbey Berenson for maximizing opportunities for HPV vaccination in medically underserved counties in Southeast Texas.

Cancer published BRCA testing research by Fangjian Guo, Matthew Scholl, Erika L. Fuchs, Abbey B. Berenson, and Yong-Fang Kuo.

Tara C. Smith, Professor, Kent State University, NBC News interviewed UTMB Health's Dr. Abbey Berenson on the anti-vax movement targeting the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

The Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology published research on the distribution of contraceptive type according to age of the patients in our clinic system and the differences in this distribution over the past decade.

Preventative Medicine published research examining associations between prenatal Tdap vaccination and influenza vaccination of mothers and hepatitis B vaccination of their infants.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) awarded UTMB's Dr. Abbey Berenson a $1.4M research grant and a $2.4M cancer prevention grant.

Winners of the 2018 CIRWCH Poster Session for Research in Women's Health.

Gregg Milligan, Jayanth Ramadoss, Pooja Patel, and Sara Nowakowski receive CIRWH 2014 grants