Episode 1: “Medical Research Bias: Why Focusing on Sex Differences is Not the Full Answer for Better Women’s Health”

” The majority of studies [both preclinical and clinical] don’t look at sex diffferences or don’t include females in the design…” – Dr. Liisa Galea

Welcome to Women’s Health Interrupted! A UBC Women’s Health Research Cluster podcast. In this introductory episode, Rebecca and Sidney give a preview for what to expect from our season and host a special conversation between two changemakers in women’s health research.

Dr. Liisa Galea and Dr. Victoria Gay co-authors of “The Research Divide” (which was published by the BC Women’s Health Foundation) join us to discuss medical research bias and how this impacts women’s health. This episode will provide you with a better understanding of the women’s health field and how it is both important and distinct from sex differences research.

Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:

• “The Research Divide” 
• “In Her Words: Women’s Experience with the Healthcare System in BC”

Guest Biographies:

Dr. Liisa Galea leads the Women’s Health Research Cluster and is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, Health Advisor to VPRI, a member of the Centre for Brain Health and a Scientific Advisor at Women’s Health Research Institute at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Galea has her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Western Ontario and was a Postdoctoral fellow from The Rockefeller University.Her research investigates how sex hormones influence brain health and disease in both females and males. The main goal of her research is to improve brain health for women and men by examining the influence of sex and sex hormones on normal and diseased brain states such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Victoria Gay is the Senior Director of strategy at BC Women’s Health Foundation. Victoria has a PhD from University College London and 15 years’ experience in research, strategy and innovation, across multiple sectors. Since joining the Foundation in 2018, Victoria has been instrumental in driving the BC Women’s Health Foundation from a foundation that served BC Women’s Hospital to a provincial foundation dedicated to improving women’s health. She leads the Research, Innovation, Education + Awareness portfolios and associated strategic partnerships, and has been heavily involved in the Foundation’s advocacy efforts these past few years to encourage transformational investments in research, policy and practice.

Additional thanks to Tallinn Splinter, Alex Lukey, Dr. Travis Hodges, Katherine Moore, and Stephen Gillis.