The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is dedicated to improving health outcomes for women throughout their lifespan. In general, women’s health has long been underfunded and understudied. This neglect has left us far less knowledgeable about the biology that drives optimal health in women. Without understanding that biology, we have been unable to develop new and improved solutions and therapeutics to optimize women’s health. For example, a century ago, the cure for preeclampsia, a pregnancy-specific disorder that is a leading driver of maternal morbidity and mortality, was delivering the baby. Today, this remains our only therapy to ‘cure’ preeclampsia. Similarly, there has been limited to no advancement in therapeutics to improve so many conditions that burden women. As researchers, educators, and clinicians, we have much to do to rectify the situation.

The Women’s Biomedical Research Institute plays a pivotal role in this effort. We are a collaborative scientific community focused on education and research in reproductive, maternal-fetal, gynecologic, and women’s health science. We educate PhD students, MD-PhDs, postdoctoral fellows, and early- and mid-career faculty in women’s biomedicine. We also mentor current and future physicians and physician-researchers in the field.

In terms of research, the Institute is working to enhance our understanding of the molecular, immunological, cellular, and biomechanical processes that drive female and sex-specific biology. We strive to translate that scientific understanding to develop diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic approaches for the many conditions that affect millions of women each year, such as endometriosis; infertility; menopause; preeclampsia; preterm birth; endometrial, cervical, breast, and ovarian cancer; polycystic ovary syndrome; and fibroids.

In addition to these female-specific conditions, many other health outcomes are more common in women and present and progress differently in women. Importantly, therapeutics for common disorders are not equally effective in women as men. As such, there is an urgent need to understand sex-specific biology. For example, many neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, are more common in women, but we lack a clear understanding as to why. Similarly, cardiovascular diseases present differently in women than men, resulting in delayed diagnosis and suboptimal care. Undoubtedly, sex-specific biology is responsible for these differences, and understanding that biology is critical to improving health for women.

One of our goals is to break down silos at Mount Sinai (and elsewhere), and develop a culture that prioritizes and fosters women’s health science across all research and clinical enterprises. To meaningfully advance women’s health requires multidisciplinary approaches and a commitment to innovation. To this end, the Institute partners with other researchers, departments, and institutes across Icahn Mount Sinai to reach our goal of understanding female and sex-specific biology and optimizing women’s health.

At Icahn Mount Sinai, we know we must act to bring women’s health science into the 21st century. The Institute is an investment in and commitment to advancing our understanding of female and sex-specific biology. The research we do at the Institute will make meaningful strides to improve the health of all women through the reproductive years, during and after pregnancy, and at all stages of life.