Congressional briefing to focus on importance of including female subjects in medical research

The Endocrine Society and Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR®) are co-sponsoring a Congressional briefing on February 17 that will focus on the importance of including female subjects in both preclinical and clinical biomedical research, which could potentially revolutionize medical research and scientific discovery.

Although biomedical research is the driver of scientific discovery and innovative medical treatment, it is well known that women and minorities still are not adequately represented in most research studies. To truly usher in medical treatments that are tailored to the patient, women and minorities must be reflected in the research studies used to approve new and novel medical treatments.

Scientific findings indicate that women have a much higher rate of adverse effects from approved medical products, and these adverse effects have resulted in some medications being pulled off the market. Scientists must ensure that preclinical research balances the inclusion of males and females and that research on human subjects includes representation from minority populations to appropriately determine how and for what populations the next wave of medical products work.

With limited budget dollars, it is imperative that federally funded research be structured to maximize the value of the investment. At the February 17 briefing, national leaders in women's health and medical research will discuss how to improve scientific understanding of differences between men and women and how these differences impact health.

What: Maximizing the Benefits of Biomedical Research: Why We Need to Balance the Study of Males and Females - A Tale of Mice and Men

Congressional briefing co-sponsored by the Endocrine Society and the Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR®)

Who: Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, President and CEO, Society for Women's Health Research

Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, Thomas J. Watkins Memorial Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University & Past President of the Endocrine Society

Janine Clayton, MD, National Institutes of Health Associate Director for Research on Women's Health, Director, NIH Office of Research on Women's Health

Marsha B. Henderson, MCRP, Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2015, 12 - 1:30 p.m. (ET)

Where: 1537 Longworth House Office Building