This summer, we saw a first-of-its-kind cross-sector collaboration – a leader in academic research and a national women’s health nonprofit joined forces to amplify the power of women’s health research and investment. The collaborative symposium “From Discovery to Impact: Accelerating Women's Health Research Through Science, Policy, and Investment” hosted by Women’s Health Research at Yale and the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) on June 15 in New Haven, Conn., welcomed more than 50 speakers, researchers from 28 departments across Yale, and gathered 350+ attendees for a day-long event that covered the power of women’s health research through an arc of discovery to practical impact.
The event opened with welcome remarks from Michael Crair, PhD, vice provost for research at Yale University, who highlighted Yale’s longstanding leadership in producing rigorous, impactful research. Basmah Safdar, MD, MSc, director of Women's Health Research at Yale, also gave opening remarks.
Safdar underscored Yale's commitment to driving meaningful impact in women's health research, noting that the symposium itself reflects an expression of that vision. Throughout her remarks, she emphasized that "collaboration" is the operative word in advancing women's health—whether in scientific discovery, translation of research into practice, or dissemination of findings. The symposium, she said, was designed to foster cross-sector partnerships among academia, nonprofit organizations, government, and industry to shine a brighter spotlight on women's health. “Our symposium, From Discovery to Impact, represents the power of collaboration and demonstrates exactly why women’s health is not niche science but is front and center in precision medicine,” said Safdar.
Kathryn Schubert, MPP, CAE, president and CEO of SWHR, reinforced this message while reflecting on both the progress made and the work that remains: "For too long, women's health has been overlooked and understudied, across diseases and conditions, but we do not have to accept this as the status quo.”
Advancing women's health, she emphasized, requires a shared commitment across sectors, and Schubert also highlighted the importance of broadening the conversation beyond traditional federal funding sources, emphasizing the opportunities private investment present.
The symposium's first featured panel included remarks and a conversation with Nicole C. Kleinstreuer, PhD, deputy director for program coordination, planning, and strategic initiatives at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), who provided updates on current and upcoming NIH initiatives in women's health research. Kleinstreuer discussed the growing need for human-based research approaches, particularly in women's health. Integrating human biology-based data into research design, she explained, can help scientists better understand women's health trajectories across the lifespan. "Having better integration of human biology-based data will actually give us a much more comprehensive research design that can reflect women's health trajectories across the lifespan," she said.
Both the morning and afternoon highlighted active women’s health research being conducted by members of the Women’s Health Research at Yale Collaborative. Two dozen Yale researchers and physician-scientists shared innovative and interdisciplinary studies spanning the biological, psychological, and social dimensions of women's health across the lifespan using cutting edge tools from AI and omics science to new imaging technologies — from the effects of pregnancy and lactation on metabolic health and the links between military sexual trauma and gynecologic cancer risk, to the use of wearable technologies for tobacco use reduction, improving menopause care for cancer patients, and beyond. Together, these presentations showcased the interdisciplinary research that is driving progress in women's health at Yale.
The luncheon keynote was delivered by Connecticut State Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who spoke about the financial future of women's health in Connecticut and the opportunities for strategic investment to improve health outcomes. Jean and David W. Wallace Dean of the Yale School of Medicine and C.N.H. Long Professor of Internal Medicine Nancy J. Brown introduced Scanlon.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), a longtime champion of women's health research, also joined the symposium. The Congresswoman is a survivor of ovarian cancer and has since been a champion for improved investments in medical research. Drawing on her personal connection to the issue, DeLauro spoke about the experiences that have fueled her advocacy in Congress and her continued efforts to elevate women's health as a national priority. During the Federal Fireside, moderated by Safdar and Schubert, seven Yale physicians, researchers, physician-scientists, students, and advocates also shared their research stories and the importance they see of enhanced and sustained women’s health research funding.
Throughout the day, speakers threaded the needle between scientific discoveries to the economic, publishing, and policy dimensions of advancing women's health research.
Lucy Pérez, PhD, senior partner at McKinsey & Company, highlighted the significant economic value of investing in women's health research and the broader societal benefits that can result from addressing longstanding gaps in care and knowledge – a $3 trillion opportunity.
Miriam Sabin, PhD, North American senior executive editor at The Lancet, discussed the critical role scientific journals play in elevating women's health research and ensuring findings are published, disseminated, and incorporated into future scientific progress.
Panels covered the role of private investments and funders for uplifting women’s health research, especially to enhance innovation, and the power of storytelling in science journalism, including the responsibility of journalists to address disinformation with leading reporters from STAT, The Wall Street Journal, and WSHU Public Radio.
The symposium reinforced a shared conviction among speakers and attendees alike: advancing women's health is not only a scientific imperative but also an economic and societal one. As Pérez put it, "when we close the women's health gap, we'll have stronger economies and stronger societies."
Thank you to all of the speakers and researchers who brought unique and necessary expertise to a wide range of women’s health conversations.
A full list of the day’s speakers and scientific spotlights can be found on the SWHR event here.
The full event program can be found on the Women's Health Research at Yale event page here.
This article was contributed by Madelyn Adams, Public Policy and Advocacy Manager at the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR).
All photos by Anthony DeCarlo, Yale School of Medicine.