Clayton Honored at Congressional Reception
The Friends of the Office of Research on Women’s Health (FORWH) honored ORWH Director Dr. Janine Austin Clayton on Jan. 25 at a Women’s Health Research Day congressional reception, which commemorates the implementation of the NIH policy on sex as a biological variable (SABV).
The FORWH coalition is composed of organizations representing researchers, clinicians, patients and policy advocates committed to addressing sex and gender disparities in health and prioritizing research gaps and unmet needs to advance women’s health.
Women’s Health Research Day raises awareness of the historical underrepresentation of women in clinical trials and the importance of designing basic, preclinical and biomedical research studies in females and males, and the need to disaggregate and analyze data by biological sex, all of which will lead to more effective, inclusive health care. Clayton was honored for her years of public service and myriad contributions to women’s health, including her work as architect of the NIH SABV policy.
“I am here today—Women’s Health Research Day—to thank you, not only for recognizing me and the efforts of ORWH, but more importantly for helping to give women everywhere a tremendous gift, and that is health,” Clayton said, accepting the honor. “I want to thank all of you—our friends in Congress, for appropriating an extra $17 million for the Office of Research on Women’s Health, our colleagues in the 23 different organizations that comprise the Friends of ORWH and especially our friends at the Society for Women’s Health Research for leading it. Thank you for everything you’ve done to elevate the needs of women, and the importance of putting science to work for the health of women, bringing awareness to women’s issues and for getting people involved…We are going to share this gift with our communities—the scores of women and men who are working very hard to raise awareness of and funding for research to better understand the health and diseases of women and sex differences. We are going to ensure that this funding is used to put science to work for the health of women, which will ultimately benefit everyone.”
The funding will help ORWH support several critical projects and programs, including the establishment of an NIH Office of Autoimmune Disease Research.