Innovation Center on Se✘ Differences in Medicine
When it comes to health, sex matters
Through discovery, translation, and education, we are revolutionizing the way in which the world understands medicine using sex and gender lenses.
ICON-✘’s Mission :
Making a difference by developing sex-selective therapies
In 2018, Dr. Jill Goldstein launched the Innovation Center on Sex Differences in Medicine (ICON-✘) at Massachusetts General Hospital, leading a group of experts across departments and disciplines and in collaboration with sister institutions and the Mass General Research Institute. ICON-✘’s mission is to leverage fundamental discoveries “from cells to society” about sex differences in the brain and body in order to develop sex-selective diagnostics and therapeutics and target them early for intervention and prevention.
In 2020, the National Institutes of Health designated ICON-✘ an NIH Specialized Center of Research Excellence (SCORE) for Sex Differences in Medicine, one of only 11 in the country.
Critical Medical Unmet Need
Sex differences in the incidence and prevalence of diseases are pervasive.
Understanding the nature of these differences and impact on treatment is critical for realizing precision medicine. We believe there are shared causal pathways that explain sex differences that cross organs and systems throughout the brain and body. This is not surprising since every cell has a sex, and gonadal hormones (that differ by sex) have impact throughout the body. However, medicine has been built primarily on studies of male animals and within departmental silos. Thus, therapies are not targeted to multiple organs nor incorporate sex differences.
The Innovation Center on Se✘ Differences in Medicine (ICON-✘) is changing that.
“Sex differences in medicine have not been given their due, in part because of biases... ”
TEDMED X JILL GOLDSTEIN
To learn about the importance of sex differences in disorders of heart and brain, watch ICON-✘'s founder Dr. Jill Goldstein's TEDMED talk: When it comes to heart and brain, sex matters
Our Team
Meet our team of ICON-✗ scientists, clinicians, and policy experts
Discovery
Novel investigations of the causes of why and how sex and gender impact the brain and body
Translation
ICON-✘ is developing innovative sex-dependent and sex-specific diagnostic tools and therapies that are translating discoveries about sex differences in medicine to enhance efficacy and precision medicine for women and men.
Education
ICON-✘ is educating the next generation of scientists and clinicians to understand the impact of sex and gender on disorders of the brain and body
Advocacy
ICON-✘ is educating and providing the public with tools to self-advocate for improved medical care and disease prevention
News&Events
Learn about ICON-✗ events and press releases, social media posts and publications from ICON-✗ members