First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, stopped by “The Engine“, one of MIT’s incubation zones, to drop off $100 Million dollars as part of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health.
The money, earmarked for research on woman’s care, will fast-track projects in the earliest phases of development. As Dr. Biden said, “This money will address gaps in understanding, Alzheimers, autoimmune and heart diseases.” Of special interest; is accelerating research on menopause.
She said, ” If you ask any woman in America about her health care, she likely has a story to tell. Maybe she gets debilitating migraines, but no one can tell her why, and she can’t find treatment options that work for her. Maybe her heart disease goes undiagnosed because her symptoms don’t look like a man’s, even as heart disease is the leading cause of death among women.”
FLOTUS, Dr. Jill Biden at the Engine 2/21/24
“Perhaps she’s a woman going through menopause, who visits her doctor and leaves with more questions than answers. Woman’s health research has always been under-funded, and as a result, we know far too little about our own health,”
The gift was presented to a group of scientists with an expectation of rapid-results. Dr. Biden said, “We will close the gaps in medicine with with new ideas, and change women’s lives. Our commitment is to sprint towards positive outcomes!”
Rather than apply for grants in the traditional format, the money is expected to evaluate, incubate and accelerate the process so often tied to bureaucracy that stifles progress. “The intention of this grant is to put women and their lived experiences at the center of research, so no woman or girl has to hear “Its all in your head”, or “It’s just stress”. “With this initiative women will no longer be an after-thought. ”
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D. Massachusetts) demands Steward health Care respond to changes of over paying executives while patients suffer from lack of adequate care.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren explained the urgency of targeting research for woman that is so often focused on men and how the grant of $100 Million dollars is a welcome start to establishing equal care.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Attorney, Xavier Becerra said, ” Women are dramatically under-represented in research models. For too long, women’s needs have been overlooked or are left out entirely from scientific and health studies.”
At The Engine the plan is to bring together an interdisciplinary group of researchers, clinicians, and tech experts to create a portfolio of investment options that catalyze advancements in multi-faceted and non-traditional women’s health research.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra at the Engine 2/21/24
The last speaker of the morning was Today Show contributor, Maria Shriver. She said she keeps an except of her uncle, John F. Kennedy’s Rice University speech beside her office phone. In 1962 the President challenged Americans to commit to earmarking taxes to the space program so that scientists from the United States would lead us to a new frontier.
“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, and one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win.” (JFK;Rice University 9/12/1962)
For Maria, the speech is a constant source of encouragement. She likening his thoughts on space exploration to the exploration of medical sciences dedicated to women.
Today Show Correspondent, Maria Shriver at The Engine 2/21/24 discussed Woman’s Health Research
Ms.Shriver said the opportunity to fund research that leads to discovering the cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, is a challenging frontier worthy of her Uncle’s vision of American exceptionalism. For her, advancing Woman’s Health is our Moon-Shot.
We can not wait, we can not rest, we must move forward and we must succeed with a sense of urgency.