Dr. Jennifer Williams Receives OBI-Banting Discovery Award for Brain Health Research
Dr. Jennifer Williams, a former postdoctoral fellow in clinical cardiovascular physiology at the University of Toronto and incoming Assistant Professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Ontario Brain Institute – Banting Discovery Award. This accolade supports outstanding early-career researchers tackling critical brain and heart health issues with a sex- and gender-based lens.
Dr. Williams’s pioneering research investigates how everyday stressors, like exercise, diet, and hormonal fluctuations, affect cerebrovascular and cardiovascular health in women. Supported by the $30,000 Banting Discovery Award, her lab will acquire a transcranial Doppler ultrasound system to measure real-time changes in blood flow to the brain and heart under acute stress. Her aim is to identify actionable biomarkers and lifestyle targets that improve brain and cardiac health in women.
In her previous research, Dr. Williams has studied how hormonal contraceptives, menopause, and lifestyle factors influence vascular function. She continues to champion sex- and gender-based analysis (SGBA) in cardiovascular research, advocating for more inclusive and representative science.
Dr. Williams’s work exemplifies the Women’s Health Research Cluster’s commitment to advancing equitable, SGBA-informed science. We eagerly await the insights emerging from her innovative investigations and their potential impact on women’s brain and heart health across the lifespan. Check out her cluster profile for more.
