Chyren Hunter, Ph.D., ORWH Associate Director of Basic and Translational Therapies, and Regine Douthard, M.D., M.P.H., ORWH Senior Medical Officer, represented NIH in a meeting with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to discuss and share insights on fostering gendered innovations and sex as a biological variable (SABV) research in the United States. By sharing NIH’s SABV policy’s best practices and lessons learned with an international research agency, ORWH demonstrated its strong culture of internal and external collaboration.
The discussion centered on the process and importance of integrating SABV policy into research. Both Drs. Hunter and Douthard expressed how the inclusion of both sexes in research is crucial for obtaining accurate results and that the exclusion of one sex can lead to an incomplete understanding of the results. They highlighted that personalized medicine and effective disease treatment require a complete body of knowledge about both men and women and that the inclusion of women in research benefits the health of all.
Drs. Hunter and Douthard also described the importance and challenges of reporting and analyzing data based on sex. Dr. Hunter noted that some fields, like endocrinology, have embraced the inclusion of sex differences in research while others, such as neuroscience, still face challenges. Dr. Douthard also pointed out the significance of including sex differences in research for cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases and Alzheimer's disease.
As part of their recommendations to JST, Drs. Hunter and Douthard suggested offering investigators supplemental funds to add a sex or gender component to their research and developing programs to train the next generation of investigators in conducting research on sex differences. They also proposed building large cohorts of subjects for studies, organizing SABV webinars, featuring SABV publications, and reaching out to community organizations to educate and inform different audiences about SABV research. To achieve success, Drs. Hunter and Douthard emphasized the importance of identifying champions in the scientific community to support and promote SABV research.