“Adding sex and gender to today’s studies not only benefit women’s health, it is also key to improving men’s health.”

Gender bias and insufficient data on minority health in our medical system can have serious and sometimes fatal repercussions, yet research into women’s health has suffered from historical neglect and lack of funding. While there are many diseases and conditions that are alarmingly more prevalent among women than men, about which we have insufficient knowledge and lack of established ideas, to-date the medical concepts of most diseases are based on the understanding of the male physiology. This is furthermore reflected in the observed bias against women’s experiences in the medical field and the lack of inclusion of females in preclinical and clinical studies. While more recently we are seeing improved efforts to counter this imbalance, research into health conditions that affect women requires continuous and steady attention to keep improving lives.

Focusing on the health needs of women will enable us to recognize and address conditions that are unique to, more common, or more serious in women. We can further identify risk factors, response to treatment, or interventions that are different for women. A more precise understanding of the biological and social gender factors that contribute to women’s health will in turn yield discoveries to help improve health for men, children, and the broader community.

To continue this important discussion, PMWC 2022 SV has an entire track dedicated to topics related to women’s health, which I’m excited to co-chair alongside Kathryn G. Schubert, President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR). The various topics center around sexual function, sexual and reproductive health, pregnancy, and childbirth, as well as organ-specific diseases and conditions that exclusively, predominantly, or differentially affect people with female-specific organs and hormonal cycles.

PMWC January 26-28, 2022 Silicon Valley Track 3 | Day 2 – Women’s Health track (in development) with some of the confirmed speakers:
• Intro to Women’s Health
o Aleksandar Rajkovic, UCSF
• Fireside Chat: US Regulatory/Personalized Medicine and Women’s Health
o Kaveeta Vasisht, FDA
o Chair: Kathryn G. Schubert, SWHR
• Reproductive Health
o Marcelle Cedars, UCSF
o Linda Griffith, MIT
• Pregnancy (PANEL)
o Chair: Yoel Sadovsky, UPMC
o Virginia Winn, Stanford
o Ananth Karumanchi, Cedars Sinai
o Liang Liang, Stanford
o Mira Moufarrej, Stanford
• Biological Sex Differences in Disease + Inclusion of Women in Clinical Research/Innovation
o Sabra Klein, Johns Hopkins
o Rhonda Voskuhl, UCLA
• Cardiovascular Health
o Nisha Parikh, UCSF
o Michael Honigberg, Harvard
o Jennifer Ann Tremmel, Stanford
• Bone Health/Osteoporosis & Menopause (PANEL)
o Chair: Risa Kagan, Sutter Health
o Ann Garnier, Lisa Health
o Danit Ariel, Stanford

Showcase by early-stage companies developing products in the field of women’s health:
• Onegevity (Nathan Price), MirVie (Maneesh Jain), NX Prenatal (Kevin Rosenblatt), Presagen (Michelle Perugini) and ARCEDI Biotech (Ripudaman Singh)

I’m thrilled to chair the Women’s Health Track at PMWC January 26-28, 2022 Silicon Valley (Recently released Program) – a Must-Have topic in any serious debate on health these days. Please join me to learn firsthand about the most recent advancements in women’s health from key opinion leaders and experts in the field.

Register now to join us for this timely program.

Yours sincerely,
Aleks Rajkovic, PhD MD
Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Chief Genomics Officer & Medical Director and Chief of the Center for Genetic and Genomic Medicine (CGGM)
UCSF