Research on Tap: Women’s Health and Cultivating a Research Community at BU

Hosts: Professor Catherine Klapperich, Biomedical Engineering (ENG); Professor Joyce Wong, Biomedical Engineering (ENG); Professor Emelia Benjamin, Medicine and Epidemiology (Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine); Professor Elisha Wachman, Pediatrics (Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine)

For much of the 20th century, clinical research predominantly involved male participants, with the assumption that findings would apply equally to women. Concerns about hormonal fluctuations and reproductive health risks led to the exclusion of women, particularly those of childbearing age. This exclusion resulted in a significant lack of data on how various diseases and treatments affect women, contributing to inequities in healthcare outcomes. The emergence of women’s health as its own field has allowed health researchers to study and address biological differences, the unique needs of women, and social factors that significantly impact women’s health.

This Research on Tap will feature women’s health research from across BU campuses, and is part of a broader effort to establish a BU research community focused on women’s health. All investigators, faculty, and trainees interested in the health of women, intersex people, and gender minorities are invited to share ideas and form new collaborations. BU is uniquely positioned to address long-standing challenges in these areas with investigators working in basic science, social science, engineering, clinical, translational, and implementation science at BU and Boston Medical Center.

The event is aligned with the recent effort to create a new Evans Center pre-Affinity Research Collaboration related to women’s health, which will convene monthly meetings alternating between the Charles River and Medical Campuses.

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