Incorporating Sex as a Biologic Variable to Advance Health

On Monday, May 24, the Connors-BRI Center for Research on Women’s Health & Gender Biology hosted a virtual symposium to highlight the importance of how sex as a biological variable and gender as a social variable affects health. The exciting event captured the interest of nearly 200 attendees from nine different institutions who had the opportunity to attend a keynote address delivered by Janine Austin Clayton, MD, Director of the Office for Research in Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Clayton gave a comprehensive overview on Why Studying Sex and Gender is Square One. Dr. Clayton posed four important questions to the audience in a call to action to “seize this moment, get Square One right, advance health for everyone.” We want to thank Dr. Clayton for her tremendous insight on this topic as we strive to learn more and do our part in this space every day.

“How do we move beyond policy and programs to drive fundamental change?”

“What checks and balances need to be built into the research ecosystem?”

“Which cross-innovation can you deploy to drive discovery?”

“Which part are you going to play?”

Following the keynote address, the symposium continued with three featured talks and a series of two-minute pre-recorded lightening talks which were organized into the four major themes of Cardiovascular and Reproductive Health, Genetics, Endocrine and Metabolism, and Neuroscience.

Finally, a video showcase was created that features 15 presenters. These videos, along with the lightning talks can be found here.

If you were unable to attend, please visit this website to check out the full agenda, learn about all the speakers, and watch the showcase videos!