Women’s health is vital not only for individual wellbeing but also for the health of families and communities. Recently, the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, together with its Center for Obstetrics Research Innovation (CORI), hosted the inaugural Women’s Health Symposium.
Dr. Marianna Alperin, OB/GYN professor and co-chair of the symposium, highlighted its key mission: “The symposium brought together UCSD researchers, clinicians, and leaders to foster innovation through team science, advance women’s health research, and ultimately improve clinical care.”
At the event, Dr. Cynthia Gyamfi-Bannerman, Chair of the Department, underscored the critical need for collaboration and knowledge sharing. She noted significant gaps in women’s health research funding: although women represent 51% of the U.S. population, only 20% of the National Institutes of Health budget targets women’s health.
Over 160 attendees—including clinicians, scientists, trainees, industry partners, and community members—participated in the symposium. Dr. Irene Su, OB/GYN professor and CORI co-director and symposium co-chair, showcased an ovarian tissue transplantation project designed to enhance women’s long-term health. This initiative exemplifies CORI’s team science approach by uniting UCSD basic, translational, and population scientists with clinicians and patients.
Other notable speakers included Dr. Brian Aguado, assistant professor of bioengineering and co-director of the WHISDEM (Women’s Health Innovation through Science, Discovery, Engineering, and Medicine) initiative; Dr. Barbara Jung, vice chancellor and dean of the School of Medicine; and Dr. John Carethers, vice chancellor for health sciences.
To illustrate the breadth of women’s health research across campus, 22 speakers from 12 departments delivered presentations and rapid-fire talks on topics spanning discovery science, translational medicine, clinical research, technology, and engineering. Departmental physician leaders addressed clinical challenges in maternal-fetal health, reproductive health, aging, and menopause. Collaboration emerged as a central theme, with presenters emphasizing their research and clinical resources and opportunities for partnership.
“This symposium marks a powerful start toward working together to improve women’s health,” Dr. Su remarked. “Speakers and attendees from across campus—from engineering and biomedical sciences to public health, pediatrics, psychiatry, and pathology—as well as members of the San Diego community, united with a shared purpose. Together, our collective efforts will be stronger.”
Symposium Highlights
About CORI
CORI aims to drive transformative discoveries to improve women’s lives. The center fosters team science and community partnerships to address longstanding gaps in women’s healthcare and deepen understanding of female biology. Those interested in joining CORI’s mailing list for the next symposium, scheduled for May 27, 2026, can email or visit the CORI website for more information.
Featured Research
Dr. Marni Jacobs, assistant professor in Obstetrics, shared insights from the Health and Disease Multi-Omics (MOHD) Consortium and Maternal Health study. She emphasized their goal of leveraging multi-omics technologies to profile health and disease states—including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), asthma, diabetes, kidney, and liver diseases. HDP accounts for 70% of maternal deaths within one year postpartum and correlates with poor health outcomes later in life. CORI’s collaborative efforts seek to uncover mechanisms to improve health for mothers and infants during pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond.
Dr. Sheng Zhong, professor of bioengineering and director of the Biomedical Artificial Intelligence Center, described a novel, noninvasive method called SILVER-seq that analyzes extracellular RNA from in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryo culture media. “Using this technology, we created the Human Embryonic Development Transcriptome Atlas (TETA), revealing RNA markers linked to embryo quality and development,” he said. “Combined with AI, this approach promises to enhance IVF outcomes, making treatments safer and more effective.”
Research has also revealed that women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease. The Women: Inflammation and Tau Study (WITS) investigates underlying causes and potential strategies to reduce risk.
Dr. Sarah Banks, associate professor of neuroscience and director of the Brain Health and Memory Disorders Center’s neuropsychology program, noted, “Our research found that nearly 70% of women with sleep apnea remain undiagnosed, with half of those cases moderate to severe.” Sleep apnea is closely linked to cognitive decline but is treatable. WITS focuses on sleep and other modifiable dementia risk factors, as well as genetic and sex differences, including the role of estrogen, to identify new targets for reducing or preventing dementia in women.
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