December 14, 2020
For pregnant women, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, listeriosis is a serious foodborne illness often linked to deli meats, fresh produce and dairy products. Even with antibiotic treatment, listeriosis is fatal for about 20 percent of patients, resulting in thousands of deaths annually.
December 11, 2020
The FDA is poised to approve two new vaccines for coronavirus this month, and advance preparations have been made to deploy these vaccines as rapidly as possible once approved. It is a triumph of science that less than a year from identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus, vaccines have been rigorously developed, evaluated, and deployed to protect against the virus.
NIH Releases Report Summarizing Research on Vaccine Communication
December 10, 2020
Purdue University speech scientist Jessica Huber has watched people with Parkinson’s disease struggle to speak, which often led to social isolation and depression. She spent time with these patients as she organized support groups and involved them in her research program. The experience inspired Huber to invent a simple wearable device to help improve the world of these individuals, and it led to the development of her own company, SpeechVive.
Innovative research helping people with Parkinson’s disease communicate better
December 9, 2020
The L’Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program honors female scientists at a critical stage in their careers with grants of $60,000 each. Candidates are selected from a variety of fields including the life and physical/material sciences, technology (including computer science), engineering, and mathematics. Candidates must have completed their PhD and have started in their postdoctoral position by the application deadline. Deadline: January 29
December 9, 2020
A new approach to cancer immunotherapy has the potential to be a universal treatment for solid tumors, according to researchers at Purdue University. Two Purdue scientists worked together to develop and test the new treatment that works not by attacking the cancer cells themselves, but by focusing on immune system cells that, ironically, feed the tumor and block other immune system cells from destroying it.
New cancer immunotherapy shows great promise in early research
December 9, 2020
Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer that has spread to a limited number of lymph nodes, and whose recurrence risk is relatively low, do not benefit from chemotherapy when it is added to hormone therapy, according to initial results from a clinical trial presented at the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Disclaimer. These findings may save tens of thousands of postmenopausal women each year the time, money, and harmful side effects that come with chemotherapy infusions.
Some postmenopausal women with breast cancer may forgo chemotherapy
December 9, 2020
A new approach to cancer immunotherapy has the potential to be a universal treatment for solid tumors, according to researchers at Purdue University. Two Purdue scientists worked together to develop and test the new treatment that works not by attacking the cancer cells themselves, but by focusing on immune system cells that, ironically, feed the tumor and block other immune system cells from destroying it.
New cancer immunotherapy shows great promise in early research
December 8, 2020
Although COVID-19 death rates are lower in women compared to men, it is not clear whether this difference in mortality is due to sex (biological) based factors, comorbidities that differ in men and women, or gender influences. New evidence supports a sex-based difference in COVID-19 mortality. Data from the OpenSAFELY cohort study in 17 million adult patients in England demonstrate that COVID-19-related deaths were associated with male sex (hazard ratio 1.59; 95% confidence interval 1.53-1.65) when fully adjusted for age, low income, smoking, pre-existing diseases, and ethnicity. Women have stronger innate and adaptive responses to infection. It is hypothesized that biological differences in the immune system may have a role in the sex-based difference in mortality from COVID-19. The results of OpenSAFELY demonstrate the importance of collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated data in research and public surveillance.
Mortality in COVID-19: Further Evidence for a Sex-Based Difference in the OpenSAFELY Study
December 8, 2020
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) submitted comments in response to the recently released NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research. SWHR applauds the NIH’s efforts in developing this plan, which will act as a living document to reflect the ongoing battle against COVID-19.
SWHR Comments on Sex & Gender Considerations in NIH-Wide COVID-19 Strategic Plan
December 7, 2020
In this issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, Tait et al report findings that female physicians spend, on average, an extra 33 minutes per day on electronic health record (EHR)–related tasks compared with their male counterparts.1 The burden of EHRs is a well-described driver of physician burnout, but identifying modifiable targets to decrease EHR burden and improve physician quality of life has remained an unsolved challenge.
Sex-Based Differences Entangling With Electronic Health Record Documentation
