The Case to Fund Women’s Health Research
Did you know?
Women’s health is an economic issue we can’t afford to ignore.
We FOund:
If we invest $300 million in women’s health research across just three diseases, we get $13 billion in returns to our economy.
Listen to WHAM Founder, CEO and Chair Carolee Lee highlight key findings from The WHAM Report and build the case for funding women’s health research:
The Case to Fund Women's Health Research
The WHAM Report is a series of studies that examine the impact of accelerating sex and gender–based health research on women, their families, and the economy. WHAM commissioned the RAND Corporation to study these impacts for: rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune), coronary artery disease (heart) and Alzheimer’s disease (brain). The WHAM Report: The Case to Fund Women’s Health Research highlights findings across all three diseases in one brief report.
78% of Americans with autoimmune diseases are women – nearly 40 million women
Just 7% of the $86 million 2019 NIH rheumatoid arthritis budget went to women-focused research.
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Women are 50% more likely to die than men in the year following a heart attack
Just 4.5% of the $444 million 2019 NIH coronary artery disease budget went to women-focused research.
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66% of Alzheimer’s patients in the U.S. are women, yet only 30% of animals included in research are female
Just 12% of the $2.4 billion 2019 NIH Alzheimer’s budget went to women-focused research.
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78% of Americans with autoimmune diseases are women – nearly 40 million women
Just 7% of the $86 million 2019 NIH rheumatoid arthritis budget went to women-focused research.
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Women are 50% more likely to die than men in the year following a heart attack
Just 4.5% of the $444 million 2019 NIH coronary artery disease budget went to women-focused research.
Learn More
66% of Alzheimer’s patients in the U.S. are women, yet only 30% of animals included in research are female
Just 12% of the $2.4 billion 2019 NIH Alzheimer’s budget went to women-focused research.
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Non-smoking women are more than 2× as likely to get lung cancer as non-smoking men.
Just 15% of the $267 million 2019 NIH lung cancer budget went to women-focused research.
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What People are Saying
“We cannot afford to ignore women’s health. The WHAM Report shows that this is not only better for our health, but also for economic opportunity.”
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro
Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
“Women are a significant force in our economy. Thanks to the WHAM Report we know that investments in women’s health research are investments that grow and strengthen our entire economy.”
Representative Don Beyer
Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee
“The data is stunning showing that increasing the commitment to women’s heart research will drive better health and better economic results. It’s high time that women are equally represented in cardiovascular research to address the leading cause of death in women.”
Nancy Brown
CEO of the American Heart Association
“The WHAM Report provides essential new information. We can no longer hide from what this is doing to our economy and our families. The potential benefits and savings are enormous.”
Marsha Henderson
Former Associate Commissioner for Women's Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Kalisha Dessources Figures
Nancy Brown
Dr. Nanette Wenger
Dr. Stacey Rosen
Dr. Annabelle Santos Volgman
Dr. Chloe Bird
Dr. Jennifer Hall
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Congressman Don Beyer
Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky
Congresswoman Haley Stevens
Marsha Henderson, former Associate Commissioner for Women's Health, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Maria Freire, Former President & Executive Director of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Susan Dentzer, Chair, Research!America, Senior Policy Fellow for the Robert J. Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke University
Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire, President and CEO, La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Dr. Jennifer Hall, Chief, Data Science, Co-Director, Institute for Precision Cardiovascular Medicine
Jennifer Luray, Vice President for Strategy and Communications, Research!America
Stacy Pagos Haller, President and CEO, BrightFocus Foundation
Dr. Chloe Bird, Senior Sociologist, RAND Corporation
Dr. Lori Frank, Senior Behavioral Scientist, RAND Corporation
Dr. Hadine Joffee, Founding Member and Lead Scientific Advisor to the WHAM Collaborative Executive Director, Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health Research, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr. Nicole Woitowich, Research Assistant Professor of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Center Administrator, Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences, Chair, The WHAM Collaborative
Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, DO, Private Practice Cardiologist Co-Founder and President, SRSHear
Dr. Stacey Rosen, Senior Vice President for Women’s Health, Katz Institute for Women’s Health
Dr. Michelle Mielke, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Neurology, Mayo Clinic Co-Director, Specialized Center for Research Excellence on Sex Differences, Mayo Clinic
Dr. Antonella Santuccione Chadha, PhD, Co-Founder, Women’s Brain Project Head Stakeholder Liaison, Alzheimer’s Disease, Biogen International Medical Manager, Alzheimer’s Disease, Roche Diagnostics Europe
Connie Tyne, Executive Director, Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health
Dr. Alyson J. McGregor, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Director, Division of Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine
Meryl Comer, Vice Chair and Global Chair, WHAM; Co-Founder, UsAgainstAlzheimers/ WomenAgainstAlzheimers; Chair, Global Alliance on Women’s Brain Health
Dr. Anula Jayasuriya, Vice Chair and Chief Scientific Officer, WHAM; Founder and Managing Director at EXXclaim Capital; MD, PhD, MBA
Ekta Singh Bushell, Global Chair/Chief Operating Officer; Board Member; Non-Executive Director; Public, Private, & Startup Advisor
Chaz Ebert, President of the Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation
Anne Lim O’Brien, Vice Chairman, Heidrick & Struggles
Michele Fabrizi, Board Portfolio career; former, CEO & President of National Ad agency
Lynn Tetrault, Chairwoman of the Board, NeoGenomics; Non-Executive Director, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals; former Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca PLC; JD
Marilyn Chintz, Litigator and Partner, Blank Rome LLP
JoAnn Manson, Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women’s Health, Medicine, Harvard Medical School Co-Director, Women’s Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Nelly Bly, Vice Chair, The Center for Discovery Board of Directors
Gina Diez Barroso, President and CEO, Grupo Diarq; Founder, DaliaEmpower
