Women's Health Access Matters

Did you know that twice as many women have Alzheimer’s disease than men? RetiSpec has developed revolutionary AI technology to determine a patient’s risk for Alzheimer’s Disease up to 20 years prior to symptoms. This tech could have enormous positive impacts on the health of women. Catherine Bornbaum, PhD, MBA, Chief Business Officer of RetiSpec, explains that these retinal scans ‘the gold standard of diagnosis’ for Alzheimer’s. Dr. Bornbaum will be joining the discussion at the WHAM Virtual Roundtable on November 19th to explore the latest innovations in women’s brain health and Alzheimer’s disease. WHAM applauds Retispec for their outstanding work in Alzheimer’s disease. Research and innovation into diseases primarily affecting women is crucial! ??Register for WHAM’s Virtual Roundtable on Women’s Brain Health: https://lnkd.in/e83RY7Nk #WomensHealth #BrainHealth #WomensHealthInvestment #WomensBrainHealth #Brain #WomensHealthResearch #InvestmentinHealth #WHAMNow #3Not30

American women are expected to control nearly $30 trillion in financial assets by the year 2030. This is more than double the $11 trillion they control today. As the primary drivers of the economy, women are responsible for 85% of consumer spending, controlling 60% of wealth and making up over half of the population. This massive transfer of wealth offers startups a rare chance to transform how women invest, spend and build their financial power. WHAM is launching several strategic initiatives to continue driving this wealth into advancing the health of women and unlocking significant economic benefits along the way. Through the WHAM Investment Collaborative, launching this fall, and the latest upcoming WHAM Report, The Business Case for Investing in Women’s Health, we are highlighting the vast economic impact and untapped market potential that comes from accelerating funding for women’s health. These initiatives will drive innovation and demonstrate why investing in the health of women is not just necessary—it’s a powerful economic opportunity. ??Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/e8vk6E-Z #WomensHealth #InvestmentinHealth #WomensHealthInvestment #WomeninBusiness #Wealth #WomensHealthResearch #InvestmentinHealth #WHAMNow #3Not30

A new neuroimaging study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had a greater effect on teenage girls' brain maturation compared to boys. Girls experienced faster cortical thinning—a brain rewiring process that occurs as it matures and accelerates under stress—during the first year of the pandemic. Scientists attribute this difference to social deprivation, as girls may rely more on social interaction to relieve stress, causing accelerated brain aging during isolation. This research underscores an important point: women are not just tiny men! WHAM is driving change by advancing research and innovations focused on sex differences. By understanding how men and women are impacted differently, we can unlock improved healthcare for everyone, fostering both societal and economic growth. ??Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eTFhX3EV #WomensHealth #WomensHealthResearch #GenderDifferences #BrainHealth #ResearchMatters #WHAM #WomensBrains #InvestmentInHealth #HealthEquity #3Not30

As the leaders of the HBS Women's Health Interest Group, Christina Vosbikian and I are proud to have helped grow a community of hundreds of?students passionate about women's health innovation across the Harvard/MIT ecosystem. Building on this amazing momentum, we’ve partnered with the Health Care Club at Harvard Business School, HBS Health Care Initiative, and Pillar VC to host the first-ever HBS Women's Health Summit, which will take place on Friday, November 1st, 2024, at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Science and Engineering Complex (SEC)! This full-day event will provide a forum for connecting our amazing community of students with industry experts, key opinion leaders, researchers, investors, and founders from the local Boston area and beyond. Keynote speakers and panel participants include senior executives and Harvard alumni working in a great diversity of roles within women’s health, each representing unique perspectives on how people (men included!) can get involved in the space and make an impact as investments in #womenshealth / #femtech grow exponentially. The event will also conclude with a student pitch competition that will award prizes to promising student ventures selected by a panel of experts. We hope you’ll join us! Tickets and registration are available?here: https://lu.ma/uj3q8gyi None of this would be possible without the overwhelming support we’ve received from our generous sponsors, as well as the incredible advocacy and engagement of our keynote speakers and panelists. Huge thanks to Carolee Lee (Women's Health Access Matters), Lesley Solomon, Primavera Alessandra Spagnolo (Brigham and Women's Hospital), Victor Lanio (Flare Capital Partners), Shannon Wilz (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts), Angelika Fretzen & Adama Marie Sesay (Wyss Institute at Harvard University), Liz Powell (G2G - Innovative Government Affairs Consulting), Lexi Henkel (Maverick Ventures), Rachel Blank (Allara), Jannine Versi (Elektra Health), Laura Mackay (Planned Parenthood Direct, Inc.), Adrianne Nickerson (Oula), Neel Shah (Maven Clinic), Leslie Schrock, Eva Luo (Pomelo Care), Robert Huckman & Casey Otis, Madelyn Heart & Thomas de Vlaam (Pillar VC), and so many more!

Serena Williams isn’t just dominating the court—she’s transforming venture capital! Women founders receive just 2% of VC funding, with only 0.1% going to Black and Latina founders. With women’s health companies largely founded by women, how can we advance wellbeing without equitable investment? Through Serena Ventures , Serena is driving investment into women and underrepresented communities. Her portfolio includes 85+ companies across healthcare, wellness, and tech, with 79% founded by underrepresented groups: ? 54% female founders ? 47% Black founders ? 11% Latino founders We applaud Serena’s incredible work in boosting VC funding for women-led companies, raising visibility for the untapped opportunities in this market. WHAM is building a consortium of leaders to drive further investment into women-founded companies—unlocking this powerful market with outsized potential for returns and transforming the future of healthcare innovation for all. Stay tuned for more updates this fall! ?? Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eG5Xs3_p ? #WomensHealth #InvestmentInWomen #VentureCapital #SerenaWilliams #HealthEquity #WomensHealthResearch #WHAMNow #SerenaVentures

WHAM and KPMG are generating critical data to show the untapped opportunities available in women’s health. Yesterday, I joined?KPMG US for their Innovation and Technology Transformation in Healthcare Event, to examine how advancements in women’s health innovation can transform patient care, workforce satisfaction, and health equity. Carolee Lee joined a panel with other experts to discuss the opportunity for investment in women’s health. Our partnership with KPMG is helping to identify critical gaps in healthcare and health information for women, and we're setting a new global standard to address the need. We’re committed to making women’s health a global priority through essential data, innovative solutions and strategic action, improving healthcare outcomes for everyone. #WomensHealth #InvestmentinHealth #HealthcareInnovations #HealthcareTechnology #WomensHealthResearch #PatientExperience #WorkforceSatisfaction #HealthEquity #WHAMNow?#3Not30

WHAM is driving the future of health innovation by accelerating research on sex differences, which will lead to better health outcomes for everyone. Women’s concussions are often misdiagnosed due to a lack of representation in traumatic brain injury research. Even when studied, the focus is mainly on athletes, overlooking cases from car accidents, military service, or domestic violence. Anatomical differences, narrower nerve fibers, and distinct hormone balances may all contribute to the unique ways concussions affect women. By advancing research on sex differences, WHAM is helping to expand our understanding of health conditions that impact both women and men. This research not only improves women’s health—it enhances healthcare overall, opening doors to more personalized treatments, better diagnostics, and improved outcomes for everyone. The economic potential in these untapped areas is immense, offering a path to sustainable change across the health ecosystem. ??Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eKMG-yD3 #WomensHealth #WomensHealthResearch #GenderDifferences #Concussions #ResearchMatters #WHAM #WomensBrains #BrainHealth #3Not30

What if a simple blood test could predict heart disease risk decades before it develops? New research shows it can—especially for women. When we study diseases like heart disease—the #1 killer of women—through a sex-based lens, life-saving discoveries emerge. Men and women experience heart disease differently, and groundbreaking research from WHAM’s lead scientific partner, Brigham and Women's Hospital is revealing how these differences can transform healthcare. Findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM Group) demonstrate that measuring two types of fats and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood can predict a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease decades before it develops. ?? Study Highlights: ? Women with the highest LDL cholesterol levels had a 36% higher risk of cardiovascular disease. ? Elevated CRP levels led to a 70% higher risk, while high Lp(a) increased risk by 33%. ? Those with the highest levels of LDL, Lp(a), and CRP faced a 1.5x higher risk of stroke and a 3x higher risk of coronary artery disease. These advances are transforming the future of women’s heart health—and they don’t just benefit women, they create a healthier future for everyone. At WHAM, we are committed to spotlighting these breakthroughs and driving more investment into women’s health research to save lives and improve health outcomes for all. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dGCk_yut #WomensHealth #HeartHealth #CardiovascularDisease #ResearchMatters #WHAM #WomensHeartHealth #InvestmentInHealth #HealthEquity ?#3Not30

At WHAM, we recognize the untapped potential for knowledge and returns when we accelerate funding and drive innovation for diseases like Alzheimer’s, which disproportionately impact women but have not been adequately studied using a sex-based lens. Yesterday, I participated in a dialogue at Lausanne XI focused on the prevention, care, and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. Here are the statistics from The WHAM Report that you need to know: ? Women make up ? of the 5.7 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease, and they also bear the greatest caregiving burden. ? In 2019, only 12% of the $2.4 billion NIH Alzheimer’s budget was allocated to women-focused research—despite women being the majority of those affected. ? The cost: Alzheimer’s disease cost the U.S. economy $305 billion in 2020 alone, placing an immense financial strain on families and society. ? The opportunity: Doubling the NIH Alzheimer’s budget could generate $930 million in returns! Research focused on women has the potential to yield a 224% return on investment—that means every $1 invested could create $3.24 in economic value and save $1.24 in direct healthcare costs. WHAM is creating a data driven report showing that investing in women’s health is not just a matter of equity but a smart business decision. By using a sex-based lens and driving data-driven strategies, we’re uncovering new opportunities to improve outcomes for all while delivering significant economic and societal benefits. Women's Health Access Matters Nadine Hack Andrea Pfeifer Meryl Comer Sharon Love George Vradenburg CEOi - Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease OECD - OCDE Alzheimer's Disease International World Economic Forum #LausanneXI #InvestmentinHealth #HealthcareInnovations #HealthcareTechnology #WomensHealth #WomensHealthResearch #AlzheimersDisease #AD #BrainHealth #HealthEquity #WHAMNow?#3Not30