WIB-Pittsburgh: Advancing Women’s Health – Innovation to Policy

Our latest panel, held March 18 at Cook MyoSite, brought together a thoughtful conversation around women’s health—exploring both the challenges and the progress in one of the most important areas of healthcare today.

We talked about why this work matters, grounding the discussion in realities like the fact that 80% of autoimmune disease patients are women, yet much of the research still relies on male data. The same goes for cardiovascular disease, where symptoms often show up differently in women, but diagnostic tools are largely based on how men present—leading to missed or delayed diagnoses.

What made the conversation especially impactful was how it connected the dots across the entire ecosystem—from early research and translational science to clinical care and patient advocacy. It was a powerful reminder that advancing women’s health doesn’t happen in isolation; it takes alignment across science, policy, industry, and, most importantly, the lived experiences of patients..

Submitted by Cigdem Benam