Build a workforce of scientists and clinicians that understand the impact of sex and gender on disorders of the brain and body
We are educating the next generation of scientists and clinicians to understand the impact of sex and gender on physiology, pathology, behavior and clinical outcomes, and inform the public about the substantial impact of sex differences in medicine. We use forums, symposiums, lectures, public talks to deliver our message.
EDucational Seminars and tools
We launched monthly seminars at Mass General Hospital to train the next generation of scientists and clinician-scientists as leaders in the fields of women’s health, research and sex differences in medicine. We have also compiled a set of online resources from NIH, ORWH, our own seminars and from other colleagues that focus on definitions, methods and tools for the assessment and study of sex & gender effects.
Sex Difference in Cancer Prevention - Educational outreach related to Sex Differences in Cancer (partnering with International Cancer Prevention Institute):
ICPI aims to foster interdisciplinary cross-communication efforts and train the next generation of researchers in basic and translational cancer prevention. One of the initiatives that ICPI undertook was the organization of the first international workshop on sexual dimorphism in cancer in 2021. Efforts are ongoing to organize this meeting again.
Additionally, through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Network (ITN) program, an interdisciplinary PhD program in cancer prevention focuses on two key determinants of cancer risk: sex hormone signaling and chronic inflammation. This collaborative approach between the different international partners enables sharing scientific materials and resources.
A pre- and/or postdoctoral fellowship program on “sex differences in cancer” is currently being developed. The aim of this fellowship program is to encourage fellows to develop their own scientific projects, under the supervision of collaborating mentors. The strength of this fellowship program revolves around a multidisciplinary approach, distribution of scientific resources and ample training opportunities.
More information on the iCPI Previous Meeting on SD in Cancer: www.cancerprev.ch/2021-sd-cancer-meeting/
Congressional Briefing Taking Heed of Alzheimer’s Disease: Recognizing and Responding to a Coming Crisis – June 26th, 2022
"Taking Heed of Alzheimer’s Disease: Recognizing and Responding to a Coming Crisis," to learn about the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer’s disease on Women, both as patients and as caregivers, how policy changes could improve outcomes, and why sustained investments in federal research need to continue to be prioritized.
Panelists: Fawn A. Cothran, PhD, RN, GCNS-BC, FGSA (National Alliance for Caregiving), Niles Godes, JD (UsAgainstAlzheimer's), Jill M. Goldstein Ph.D (Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital), and moderator Brooks Kenny (#UsAgainstAlzheimers).
Sex Differences in Cardiomyopathy - Dr Emily Lau & Dr Christy Taylor (MGH) - July 2022
Sex Differences in Cardiomyopathy - Dr Emily Lau & Dr Christy Taylor (MGH)
July 2022
AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology Podcast - June 6th, 2022
Prenatal Dexamethasone Alters Female Cardiovascular Function
Dr Taben Hale, Lakshmi Madhavpeddi (University of Arizona, Phoenix) - ICON-✘ Collaborators.
“How does in utero glucocorticoid administration impact autonomic control of the heart in adult offspring in a sex-dependent manner? In this episode, Associate Editor Dr. Crystal Ripplinger (University of California – Davis) interviews authors Dr. Taben Hale and Lakshmi Madhavpeddi (University of Arizona) along with expert Dr. Glen Pyle (University of Guelph) about the new work by Madhavpeddi et al.”
https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/prenatal-dexamethasone-alters-female-cardiovascular-function/
Femtechnology Summit – June 2nd, 2022
“Importance of Sex-Selective Therapeutics in the context of Femtech”
Talk: Sex Differences in Chronic Diseases of the Brain & Heart: Implications for Sex-Selective Therapeutics. https://femtechnology.org/2022/03/28/when-it-comes-to-health-sex-matters/#more-6425
Talk Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgulkeL28iw
$12 Million Grant Propels Research of Immune Systems of Pregnant Individuals - May 12, 2022
Penn, Harvard, MIT, and Massachusetts General Hospital researchers will partner to map immune systems and investigate how to make vaccinations most effective for pregnant patients and developing fetuses (Andrea Edlow MD, MSc, ICON-✘ Faculty)
Michal Elovitz, MD, the Hilarie L. Morgan and Mitchell L. Morgan President’s Distinguished Professor in Women’s Health at Penn; Galit Alter, PhD, a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and group leader at the Ragon Institute; Douglas A. Lauffenburger, PhD, the Ford Professor of Engineering at MIT; and Andrea Edlow, MD, MSc, a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at MGH and associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School, will lead investigations focused on uncovering the sequence of immune system changes in pregnant people and the development of the fetal immune system.
Tech4Eva Summit – March 31st, 2022
“Equality and Gender Differences - Why Femtech matters"
The 2nd Opening Ceremony of Tech4Eva was organized virtually and at the Rolex Learning Center at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) to accelerate and disrupt Women's health across the world. The event brought together the ecosystem including 250+ experts, ecosystem builders, investors, corporates, researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators to co-create new solutions and to launch initiatives for better health for all, and for gender equity in health research.
Keynote : keynote on the Impact of Sex on Risk & Therapeutics for Chronic Disease.
https://www.tech4eva.ch/event/tech4eva-opening-ceremony-2022
American Psychopathological Association Annual Meeting - March 3-4, 2022
Timing is Everything: Rhythms and Dynamics of Psychopathology across the Life Span
Talk: Sex Differences, Sensitive Periods & Risk for Psychopathology across the Lifespan
https://pmg.joynadmin.org/documents/1053/61f1e9f387556e3eba32bb52.pdf
Novel form of vagus nerve stimulation promising for treatment of major depressive disorder – March 2022
MGH Advances in Motion by Ronald Garcia, Jill Goldstein
The vagus nerve, as the main component driving the parasympathetic nervous system, is involved in regulating mood. Implanting electrodes to stimulate the vagus nerve in the neck can be useful in managing treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD), but significant side effects and surgical morbidity are possible.
https://advances.massgeneral.org/neuro/journal.aspx?id=2155
New Study to Explore Link Between Hypertension Treatment and Development of Heart Failure- February 2022
UArizona College of Medicine Article on Dr Taben Hale
Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix have received a grant to study how medications used to treat hypertension may provide insight into novel treatments to produce long-lasting protection against heart disease.
Taben Hale, PhD, is the director of the Hale Laboratory at the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She is leading the study, “Targeting Resident Cardiac Fibroblast Subpopulations for Protection Against Fibrosis,” with R01 grant funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Article: “Menopause and Memory: Know the Facts” - February 2022
Harvard Health Blog by Dr. Goldstein
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/menopause-and-memory-know-the-facts-202111032630
Sex Differences in the Co-Occurrence of PTSD and Cardiovascular Disease – January 2022
Antonia V. Seligowski, PhD and Kerry J. Ressler, MD, PhD
https://journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/00485713-20211226-01
Abstract:
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly impairing psychiatric condition, and women are twice as likely as men to receive a diagnosis. It is thought that chronic arousal and physiological stress place individuals with PTSD at greater risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Sex differences in CVD are also well established. For example, premenopausal women have lower CVD risk compared to men, and this is partly explained by higher levels of estradiol in premenopausal women. Estradiol is considered to be a protective factor against PTSD as well; therefore, it is important to understand the role of sex hormones in PTSD and CVD, including whether or not there is shared impact of sex hormones on the co-occurrence of these diseases. In this review, we discuss sex differences in PTSD and CVD, as well as the brain-heart connection in the PTSD-CVD link and current treatment approaches, considering sex as a biological variable. [Psychiatr Ann. 2022;52(1):26–30.]
Stress Before Birth affects Midlife Brain Circuits Differently Between the Sexes - April 2021
Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News highlights Goldstein and colleagues’ PNAS publication "Impact of prenatal maternal cytokine exposure on sex differences in brain circuitry regulating stress in offspring 45 years later." Findings demonstrate conditions of our mother’s pregnancy impact how we respond to stress differently dependent on whether we are a man or woman.
Dr Taben Hale | "Targeting resident cardiac fibroblasts for treatment of hypertensive heart disease" - May 2020
Dr Hale gave a talk for the International Society for Heart Research - Talk video
ICON Fall Forum | Monday, October 28th 2019
Impact of SeXX on Shared Causes of Disorders of Heart and Brain
Jill Goldstein, Stuart Tobet, Tanuja Chitnis, Simmie Foster, Malissa Wood, Taben Hale, Bob Handa, Tamarra James-Todd, Jeannie Lee, Ana Langer, Jill Lesser, Tammy Dellovade
The purpose of this Forum was to engage and inform scientists and clinicians on sex differences in medicine and emphasize the importance of sex on multimorbidity of disorders of heart and brain. ICON’s 5 primary causal pathways were presented (hormonal, genetic, immune, vascular and metabolic pathways).
The Forum - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Wednesday, February 28th 2018
Heart and Brain Disease in Women Sex and Gender Connections
Jill Goldstein, Ana Langer, Marjorie Jenkins, British Robinson
A panel discussion on the co-occurrence of depression and heart disease and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. With a sex and gender lens, the panel explores the disproportionate risk of this co-occurrence in women and ways to translate knowledge into better treatments and prevention in the U.S. and the world.
https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/heart-and-brain-disease-in-women/
NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health Seminar Series |Thursday, June 7th 2018
Sex and the Head-Heart Connection
Nakela Cook, Jill Goldstein, Ana Langer, Virginia Miller
A live-streamed workshop with presentations and panel discussion to raise visibility of heart-brain comorbidities through a sex difference lens.
The Forum - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Monday, March 4th 2019
Deaths from Pregnancy and Childbirth Why are more U.S. mothers dying and what can be done?
Ana Langer, Wanda Barfield, Hayward Brown, Susan Mann, Karen Scott
A panel discussion on what is driving the doubling of deaths in pregnancy and childbirth in the U.S. at a time when maternal mortality has markedly decreased around the world. The panel also addresses racial disparities and the 3-4 times higher risk of pregnancy-related deaths for black women.
https://theforum.sph.harvard.edu/events/deaths-from-pregnancy-and-childbirth/
Grand Rounds - Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry | Friday, May 18th 2018
Shared Impact of SeXX on Comorbidity of Depression and CVD
Jill Goldstein
A Grand Rounds presentation in May sponsored by the Women’s Behavioral Health Division of Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, in which Dr. Goldstein explored how sex differences — some beginning during fetal development — contribute to dissimilarities observed in the co-occurrence of major depression and heart disease that carry across the lifespan.
https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/18181/