Why we need FWH
A brief history of women’s health research in the United States
The Foundation for Women's Health is building a pool of private money for women’s health research that is not subject to unstable politics, and can remain sustainable over the long-term.
The impact of investing in women’s health research is staggering. Closing the women’s health gap by investing in women’s health research would boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040.
The gender health equity gap isn't a funding shortfall—it's a misallocation problem. The private sector can fix it faster and more efficiently than government ever could. FWH is how we do it.
We cannot rely on a public sector solution.
In year one, we met every grant-making target we set and the research we funded is already making huge impact. In year two, our goal was to double our grants and our impact, and we did!
What sets us apart is simple: shorter grant-making processes, grantees selected by the nation’s leading experts, resulting in highly targeted grants to world-class scientists working in the most underfunded areas of women’s health. This is what happens when talented scientists get the funding they need without multi-year processes and delays. This is private sector funding for research operating at the speed women deserve.
Private sector funding for research operating at the speed women deserve.
Our grantees
Dr. Elizabeth Andersen, PhD
Dr. Lyndsey Benson, MD, MS
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Washington School of Medicine
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This project explores how hormonal changes during puberty and social media dynamics interact to influence depression and suicide risk in adolescent girls. By studying brain activity, hormone fluctuations, and social behavior—particularly rejection sensitivity—Dr. Andersen aims to uncover how digital environments and biological changes jointly affect mental health. The goal is to identify early risk markers and inform interventions tailored to the unique social and biological context of adolescent girls
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States with abortion bans are facing disproportionate shortages of obstetricians and higher rates of maternal mortality, and emergency departments, whose care can be highly variable and often inadequate, are increasingly serving as the front-line for patients with early pregnancy complications. No government agency is tracking the public health impact of abortion bans or the preventable deaths of mothers and their unborn children caused by these policies. There is an urgent need to understand the impact of abortion bans on early pregnancy loss, other early pregnancy concerns, and post-abortion complications. This research will assess the impact of abortion restrictions on miscarriage and other early pregnancy complications, and the findings will provide data critical to driving future policy work to mitigate the impact of abortion restrictions on women’s health.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Meharry Medical College
Dr. Michelle Craske, PhD, AO
Dr. Noémie Elhadad, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Columbia University
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Most women experiencing perinatal (during pregnancy and up to one year after giving birth) depression symptoms are either undiagnosed or under-treated. Lack of treatment can have significant and far-reaching impacts on mothers, children, and families: mental health conditions now account for 1 in 4 maternal deaths. This research will pair digital sensing technology, like smartphones and other wearable technology that track physical data, with a tested system of clinical care for perinatal depression for a population of low-income women with limited access to health care. Dr. Craske will gather data to predict the treatment most likely to relieve symptoms for perinatal depression with the additional goal of improving the scalability and accessibility of these treatments for low-income women and other women from marginalized groups.
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Endometriosis is a debilitating condition affecting up to 10% of women of reproductive age. While it can be diagnosed as early as menarche, most diagnoses aren’t made until decades later when women encounter fertility issues, causing unnecessary pain and missed days at school and work for millions of adolescent girls and women. Dr. Elhadad, whose work on AI and women’s health is among the most innovative in the country, will develop an AI tool to detect the presence of endometriosis in women presenting to the Emergency Department with pelvic or abdominal pain. Rather than providing a diagnosis, the tool will trigger a referral to specialty gynecology and offer patients an app to track their symptoms to reduce diagnostic delays and improve patient care.
Washington University School of Medicine
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine
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Dr. Mousavi’s project develops innovative wearable devices that analyze menstrual blood for early detection of uterine cancer. By identifying biomarkers in this underutilized biofluid, the research aims to create accessible, non-invasive diagnostic tools that can be used at home. This approach has the potential to improve early detection, particularly for populations that face barriers to traditional screening.
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Dr. Liu’s research seeks to understand how immune function is shaped by sex, hormones, aging, and lifestyle, with a focus on autoimmune disease risk in women. Using cutting-edge single-cell analysis and machine learning, the project examines how immune cells change across life stages and differ between men and women. The goal is to develop a predictive platform for early detection of immune dysfunction and personalized strategies to improve immune health and resilience.
University of Southern California, Viterbi School of Engineering
University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Anna E. Patrick, MD, PhD
Dr. Sheila Shanmugan, MD
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This study investigates the role of estrogen in driving inflammatory immune responses in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), a condition that disproportionately affects girls. By analyzing how estrogen receptors influence T cell behavior and inflammatory signaling, the research aims to uncover hormonal mechanisms underlying disease risk. Findings could lead to new, targeted therapies that address sex-specific drivers of autoimmune disease in children.
University of Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt University
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This study investigates why adolescent girls are at higher risk for depression, focusing on how early childhood adversity affects brain development differently by sex. Using a large longitudinal dataset of over 11,000 adolescents, the research examines how these experiences shape functional brain networks linked to reward processing and emotional regulation. By combining neuroimaging and machine learning, the project aims to identify early predictors of depression risk in girls, enabling targeted prevention strategies during critical developmental windows.
Dr. Ping Yin, MD, PhD
Northwestern University
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Dr. Yin’s research targets a key genetic mutation that drives growth of uterine fibroids by developing drugs that inhibit the enzyme responsible for tumor growth. This approach exploits a vulnerability unique to fibroid cells, allowing for selective treatment without harming healthy tissue. The project aims to advance a first-in-class oral therapy that could shrink fibroids and offer a non-surgical treatment option.
Dr. Taneisha Cheairs, PhD
Dr. Semir Beyaz, PhD
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This project investigates why women with sickle cell disease have significantly lower rates of uterine fibroids, aiming to uncover biological mechanisms that may protect against fibroid development. By studying this unique population, the research seeks to identify pathways that could be leveraged to develop non-invasive treatments for fibroids. The findings could lay the groundwork for novel therapies that benefit all women at risk.
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This study focuses on understanding the genetic drivers of aggressive endometrial carcinosarcoma, a treatment-resistant and highly recurrent form of uterine cancer that disproportionately affects women of African ancestry. Using single-cell genomics and patient-derived models, the research aims to identify mutations and cellular mechanisms that drive disease progression and resistance. The goal is to uncover new therapeutics to address racial disparities in cancer outcomes.
Dr. Audrey Hendricks, MD
Dr. Mona Guo, MD
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Dr. Hendricks’ research focuses on identifying protective factors that reduce cardiovascular disease risk in pre-menopausal women. By integrating genetic data, biological aging markers, and environmental factors, the study aims to improve early risk prediction and uncover mechanisms that protect women from heart disease. The long-term goal is to enable earlier, more personalized interventions and reduce disparities in cardiovascular outcomes.
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine
University of Colorado, Denver
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This project pilots a bilingual AI chatbot designed to increase HPV vaccination rates among postpartum women in underserved populations. Delivered via tablet in a safety-net hospital, the chatbot provides education and guidance at a critical moment for vaccine uptake. The study evaluates its effectiveness in improving initiation and follow-through of HPV vaccination, with the broader goal of expanding AI-driven tools to improve preventive care access and reduce health disparities.
Dr. Catherine Kim, MD, MPH
Dr. Anuja Java, MD
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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects 1 out of 10 women. Elevated androgens, or “male hormones,” are a key feature of PCOS, but how these hormones affect women’s risk of cardiovascular disease is not understood. This research will address the long-standing question of how PCOS, and specifically androgen profiles, influence cardiometabolic health. The findings will guide the development of anti-androgen and other hormone-specific therapies, taking into account racial differences in hormones and cardiovascular risk factors. The findings will also aid in early diagnosis of PCOS, a disease that can be diagnosed as early as menarche (when menstruation first occurs), but which usually takes decades to diagnose, causing unnecessary suffering for adolescent girls and young women with lost days at school and work.
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Preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in this country and yet its cause is unknown. It is a severe pregnancy complication that endangers both mothers and babies by damaging blood vessel linings and impairing their function, and if untreated, can lead to seizures, stroke and the death of the mother and baby. The current treatment for preeclampsia is to deliver the baby, resulting in premature births with significant risks for babies. This research aims to uncover how a specific genetic mutation is related to development of preeclampsia, providing insights into the underlying biology of the disease and paving the way for new treatments to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes across the globe. Identifying a genetic cause for preeclampsia would lead to huge developments in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease that affects 4 million women globally each year.
Dr. Maral Mousavi, PhD
Dr. Ling Liu, PhD
We must stop discounting women’s health concerns and start investing in the research required to address persistently unanswered questions.
