WHAM Collaborative continues its expansion with exceptional experts in their fields to inform WHAM’s work across numerous medical and research professions.

Greenwich, CT (July 27, 2022) – Last month, Women’s Health Access Matters (WHAM), a nonprofit organization working to increase awareness of and accelerate funding for women’s health research, announced ten new members of The WHAM Collaborative. These new members join a growing roster of esteemed leaders in women’s health and the study of sex difference across the country and across disease areas, working with WHAM to accelerate health research focused on women. WHAM Collaborative members work together to identify and prioritize key questions for women’s health research, share research insights across silos and generate interest and momentum in the research community to focus on women’s health.

“I am excited to see The WHAM Collaborative grow as our mission to increase women’s health research funding makes waves in the science, business and policy communities,” said WHAM Founder and CEO Carolee Lee. “With the contributions of these fantastic leaders in science and medicine, we are driving awareness around women’s health research disparities and advocating for the health of women everywhere.”

The full list of new WHAM Collaborative members includes:

Larry Cahill, PhD, University of California, Irvine
Dr. Larry Cahill is a Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior at the University of California, Irvine and a long-standing leader in the area of brain and memory. Dr. Cahill is among the world leaders on the topic of sex influences on the brain and was instrumental in the 2016 adoption by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the landmark Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV) policy mandating consideration of sex influences in all NIH-funded research.

Richard J. Davidson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Richard Davidson is the William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Founder & Director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Founder and Chief Visionary for Healthy Minds Innovations, Inc. His research is broadly focused on the neural bases of emotion and emotional style and methods to promote human flourishing, including meditation and related contemplative practices. He is particularly concerned about improving the well-being of adolescent girls who are especially vulnerable to depression and other stress-related illnesses.

Jennifer Hall, PhD, American Heart Association and University of Minnesota
Dr. Jennifer Hall is the Chief of Data Science at the American Heart Association and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota. Her research analyzes how different factors contribute to understanding heart health – including gender.

Sharonne N. Hayes, MD, Mayo Clinic
Dr. Sharonne Hayes has long advocated for the advancement of women’s health and sex-based medicine. As Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic and Founder of the Women’s Heart Clinic, her research interests include sex and gender-based cardiology, cardiovascular conditions primarily affecting women, spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), fibromuscular dysplasia, pericardial diseases, health equity, participation of women and minorities in medical research, health care workforce equity and more.

Pavitra Kotini-Shah, MD, University of Illinois at Chicago
Dr. Pavitra Kotini-Shah currently serves as Assistant Professor of Academic Emergency Medicine at University of Illinois at Chicago, Director of Emergency Ultrasound Research and current NIH BIRCWH Research Scholar focused on sex and gender disparities in emergency cardiovascular conditions. She brings expertise in emergency medicine, point-of-care echocardiography and resuscitation and translational research investigating the relation between inflammatory markers and sex hormones. She is also an advocate for gender equity in academic medicine.

Roxana Mehran, MD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Roxana Mehran is an Endowed Mount Sinai Professor in Cardiovascular Clinical Research and Outcomes and Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is an internationally renowned interventional cardiologist and clinical research expert in the field of cardiovascular disease and leads the Lancet Commission on Women’s Cardiovascular Diseases, which brings together leading female researchers from around the world to identify and bridge gaps in research and care for women with cardiovascular disease.

Sharyn Rossi, PhD, BrightFocus Foundation
Dr. Sharyn Rossi is the Director of Scientific Programs, Neuroscience, at the BrightFocus Foundation and her expertise includes traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, aging, neuroanatomy, neurodegeneration and plasticity, stem cell biology and neuroimaging. She applies her knowledge to research surrounding women’s neurological health.

Katherine M. Sharkey, MD, PhD, Brown University
Dr. Katherine M. “Katie” Sharkey is Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry & Human Behavior and Associate Dean for Gender Equity at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is a recognized expert in sleep, circadian rhythms and sleep disorders, particularly as they relate to women’s health and gender disparities in sleep health diagnoses.

Janice Werbinski, MD, Western Michigan University
Dr. Janice Werbinski is a Clinical Associate Professor Emerita at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker School of Medicine, the past president of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), and a Retired OB/GYN physician with a passion for women’s empowerment and advancing education in sex and gender-based medicine to improve the health and health care of both women and men.

Susan F. Wood, PhD, George Washington University

Dr. Susan F. Wood is a Research Professor of Health Policy and Management at George
Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, and the Director of Jacobs
Institute of Women’s Health. She formerly was Assistant Commissioner of Women’s Health at the US Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Wood’s work and public advocacy focuses on the use of scientific knowledge in public policy and advancing women’s health across the lifespan.

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About WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters)
WHAM works to increase awareness of and funding for women’s health research by accelerating scientific discovery in women’s health in four primary disease verticals – autoimmune disease, brain health, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The WHAM Report quantifies the economic opportunity for investing in women’s health, looking across diseases that impact women differently and differentially. Learn more at www.thewhamreport.org and www.whamnow.org.