The Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) is very pleased to congratulate the recipient of the 2025 Dr. Monica K. Li and Family Undergraduate Medical Student Research Award in Women’s Health.
Thanks to an annual endowment by Dr. Monica K. Li and family to the BC Women’s Health Foundation, the WHRI has established the Dr. Monica K. Li and Family Undergraduate Medical Student Research Award in Women’s Health, a funding opportunity specific to our undergraduate medical student trainee community.
This award is intended to provide support to WHRI-affiliated medical students who identify as a woman from racial/ethnic minority groups to pursue research in women’s and/or newborn health under the mentorship of a WHRI researcher. This award can be used to support summer research placements, UBC FLEX research projects or other types of research activities.
This year, the WHRI offered one award, valued at $3,400, for a one-year period.
2025 AWARD RECIPIENT
Recipient
Helen Chen, Year 1 Medical Student, Doctor of Medicine Program, University of British Columbia
Project Supervisor
Dr. Melanie Murray, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Project Title
Exploring biological, psychological, and social predictors of accelerated aging in women living with HIV: a cross-sectional analysis of leukocyte telomere length and lifetime estradiol exposure in the British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3) cohort
Project Aims
Women living with HIV have shorter life expectancy and face worse health outcomes than women without HIV and men living with HIV. Unlike the general population, where women typically outlive men, this reversed trend among people living with HIV suggests that unique biological factors may adversely affect women’s aging trajectories. Hormonal dysregulation is one potential mechanism. Compared to women without HIV, women living with HIV are more likely to experience conditions that reduce estradiol exposure, such as primary ovarian insufficiency, prolonged amenorrhea, and early menopause. Since estradiol is critical for immune regulation, cardiovascular health, and bone integrity, its decline may contribute to accelerated biological aging. To date, the relationship between lifetime estradiol exposure and biological aging in this population has not been studied. This project aims to examine the biological and psychosocial factors underlying accelerated aging in women living with HIV, focusing on two key measures: lifetime estradiol exposure and leukocyte telomere length.