The OHSU Center for Women’s Health’s Circle of Giving celebrated its 17th Granting Day with a historic first. The philanthropic group gathers annually in May to award a $125,000 grant to a selected women’s health research proposal from a field of OHSU finalists. This year, the Circle of Giving members broke all barriers by awarding a full grant amount to all three research teams that presented. 

At an ordinary Granting Day, the finalists present their research projects, each targeting different areas of women’s health. Circle of Giving members then deliberate, often for a lively discussion, to determine which proposal the group should support. Ultimately, members vote individually, but there is usually a clear winner. 

But this year was anything but ordinary. The 2024 proposals covered very different areas of women’s health: alcohol use disorder, breast and ovarian cancer, and chronic pelvic pain. When Circle of Giving members determined that each proposal had the potential to greatly impact women’s health research, they made an unprecedented move to fund all three. Many members in the room felt passionate about certain projects and stepped up their support. 

With the decision made, staff called the researchers back into the room to announce the good news. Several were speechless, one said this grant is his highlight of the year and a third spoke profoundly about the important ways their research will move women’s health forward.  

“We are extremely honored and grateful to receive this funding. By funding our project, the Circle of Giving will provide the much-needed support to initiate the preliminary, preclinical studies we need to continue our overall goal of identifying treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in women,” said Dr. Andrey Ryabinin, professor of behavioral neuroscience and a 2024 Circle of Giving awardee. “This will be critical to bringing the field of AUD in line with other fields of women’s health like reproductive cancers and menopause.” 

This year’s awardees are: 

• Lynne Shinto, N.D., M.P.H.; Jacquelyn Knapp, M.D.; Chris Stauffer, M.D., Psilocybin for Chronic Pelvic Pain in Women: A Pilot Feasibility Study
• Deena Walker, Ph.D.; Andrey Ryabinin, Ph.D., Hypothalamic mechanisms of female-specific stress-enhanced alcohol drinking 
• Wassana Yantasee, Ph.D., M.B.A.; Shivaani Kummar, M.D., Megan Burger, Ph.D., Nanoparticle based Interleukin-2 therapy for breast and ovarian cancers 

“It was such an exciting Granting Day, and I am delighted we were able to award funding in these incredibly important areas of women’s health research,” said Dr. Maria I. Rodriguez, director of the OHSU Center for Women’s Health. “The impact of the Circle of Giving never ceases to amaze me.” 

“This group understand that women’s health has been chronically underfunded and understudied for decades,” adds Dr. Rodriguez. “They are making a huge difference in so many lives and paving the way toward a better understanding of the unique health needs of women.”