Friday, February 24, 2023 – The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) will recognize and honor leaders in health care for their contributions to advancing women’s health at its 2023 Annual Awards Gala on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. SWHR will recognize Kaveeta Vasisht, MD, PharmD and Pauline Maki, PhD. These exceptional leaders have advanced public health research, policy, and education; and conducted seminal research on the role of sex steroid hormones on cognition in women, with a focus on changes that occur during the menopausal transition. A third leader, receiving the Health Industry Visionary Award at the Gala, will be announced later this spring.
SWHR will present the Health Public Service Visionary Award to Dr. Kaveeta Vasisht. Dr. Vasisht is the Associate Commissioner for Women’s Health at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She directs the FDA Office of Women’s Health (OWH), which serves to protect and advance the health of women through scientific programs, policy development, research, education, stakeholder collaboration, and outreach. Dr. Vasisht leads efforts to advance regulatory science through understanding sex differences, promoting the inclusion of women and diversity in clinical trials, advancing policy, and establishing women’s health research priorities at FDA. Under her leadership OWH recently developed the Knowledge and News on Women’s Health Initiative, bringing broader awareness to conditions that not only impact women, but also highlighting how health conditions can affect women differently. In addition, she leads efforts to bridge important knowledge gaps on medication use in pregnancy and lactation. Dr. Vasisht and OWH have received numerous FDA awards in recognition of their contributions. Prior to her current role, she served as a Deputy Director in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Office of Medical Policy and has extensive expertise in leading regulatory policy development. She also provided clinical expertise on multidisciplinary teams in the review and evaluation of scientific data to make regulatory decisions on the safety and effectiveness of therapeutics during her tenure in CDER’s Office of New Drugs. Dr. Vasisht is board-certified in both internal medicine and adult endocrinology. She completed her internal medicine and endocrinology fellowship training at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she also served on the faculty. She also holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Rutgers College of Pharmacy where she graduated from the Honors Research Program. SWHR will be honoring Dr. Vasisht for her long-lasting commitment to public health, with an emphasis on her myriad achievements during her time as Associate Commissioner for Women’s Health at the FDA.
SWHR will present the Health Education Visionary Award to Dr. Pauline Maki. Dr. Maki leads a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research program on women, cognition, mood, and dementia, with a particular focus on the menopause. In her work, Dr. Maki utilizes multiple research methods, including clinical trials of hormonal and non-hormonal treatments for menopausal symptoms, cohort studies of the natural history of cognition and brain function across the menopausal transition, and neuroimaging studies. She also serves as Senior Director of Research at the University of Illinois Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender. Dr. Maki is Past President of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), current Trustee of the International Menopause Society, Past Chair of the Society for Women’s Health Research Interdisciplinary Network on Alzheimer’s Disease, and Immediate Past Head of the Neurocognitive Working Group of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study. SWHR will be honoring Dr. Maki for her significant research contributions that are improving our understanding surrounding key issues in women’s health, particularly around cognition, mood, and brain function during pregnancy and menopause. SWHR will also recognize Dr. Maki for her former role as co-chair of the SWHR Interdisciplinary Network of Alzheimer’s Disease, during which time she led a team to investigate the accuracy and impact of Alzheimer’s diagnostic tests for women and men.
Read More About The Industry Honoree
SWHR is honored that Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH, will serve as the keynote speaker for the evening. Dr. Gerberding is the CEO of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, a non-profit organization that builds public-private research partnerships to support the mission of the NIH. She co-chairs the Center for Strategic and International Studies Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security and is a member of the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System. Previously, she served as President of the vaccines business and as Executive Vice President and the Chief Patient Officer at Merck & Co., Inc. From 2003-2009, Dr. Gerberding led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was the first woman to serve in this role. She serves on the boards of HilleVax, Mayo Clinic, National Health Council, and Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Gerberding is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and an adjunct faculty member of the University of California, San Francisco, and Case Western Reserve University.
SWHR supporters will gather in person for the 2023 Annual Awards Gala to celebrate the achievements of Dr. Vasisht, Dr. Maki, and others, and hear from Dr. Gerberding about future opportunities in women’s health research. The event will be held on April 26, 2023, at the InterContinental Washington, D.C. – The Wharf, with a reception beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET and dinner following at 7:00 p.m. ET. Find out more about the 2023 Gala and see highlights from past Galas here.
Sponsorships and tickets are still available. Information can be found here. Funds raised from the event will support SWHR’s science, policy, and educational initiatives. For additional information about the gala, please contact Emma Bixler, Development Coordinator, at emma[at]swhr.org or 202-464-6923.
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About SWHR
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is a national nonprofit and thought leader dedicated to promoting research on biological sex differences in disease and improving women’s health through science, policy, and education. Founded in 1990 by a group of physicians, medical researchers, and health advocates, SWHR is making women’s health mainstream by addressing unmet needs and research gaps in women’s health. Thanks to SWHR’s efforts, women are now routinely included in most major medical research studies and more scientists are considering sex as a biological variable in their research. Visit www.swhr.org for more information.