Women’s Health Research at Yale today announced two research awards, one aimed at more effectively treating endometriosis and the second designed to help women who have been incarcerated improve their health outcomes. The research awards, “Long-Acting Degradable Implants for Endometriosis Treatment” and “Mobile Care for Women with a History of Justice Involvement,” are part of Women’s Health Research at Yale’s Pilot Project Program, initiated in 1998.
“Both of this year’s pilot projects have the potential to greatly improve the lives of women,” said Carolyn M. Mazure, PhD, Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor in Women’s Health Research, professor of psychiatry and psychology, and Director of Women’s Health Research at Yale. “I look forward to the progress our impressive investigators will make on two critical areas of women’s health through these year-long awards.”
Long-Acting Degradable Implants for Endometriosis Treatment
This year’s Wendy U. & Thomas C. Naratil Pioneer Award will provide W. Mark Saltzman, PhD, Goizueta Foundation Professor for Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, the opportunity to develop and test long-acting degradable implants designed to treat endometriosis – a painful condition that also can affect the capacity to become pregnant. This approach offers the novel delivery of an FDA-approved drug to treat this common disorder, affecting more than 6.5 million women in America alone.
Saltzman’s research team includes Hugh Taylor, MD, Anita O’Keeffe Young Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, who has long studied endometriosis. Together, they will determine if a specific estrogen-blocking drug can treat endometriosis with delivery through a manufactured, degradable implantable device. The three phases of this pilot study include determining the proper dose of the estrogen blocker; discovering the optimum placement in the body for a degradable implant; and examining the intervention’s efficacy and safety.
“Funding from Women’s Health Research at Yale is a proven method to bring new technology, new solutions, and new innovation forward,” said Saltzman. “The goal of the program is to get you enough of a research runway so that you can prove to other funders the potential impact of your work, enabling you to continue to develop an intervention, with the ultimate goal of getting it to the women who need it most. This Pilot Project Program award gives me a tremendous advantage.”
Mobile Care for Women with a History of Justice Involvement
Sandra Springer, MD, Professor of Medicine, and Sheela Shenoi, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, received this year’s second Pilot Project Program award. Leveraging Springer’s mobile medical unit and mobile retail pharmacy InMOTION, investigators will explore how a mobile model of healthcare can lead to improved outcomes as women rejoin the community from correctional institutions. Springer was awarded an Avant Garde Award by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) in June 2022 that resulted in the development of the first legalized mobile retail pharmacy/mobile clinic combination in the United States. The goal of InMOTION is to increase healthcare access and remove barriers by bringing healthcare and medications directly to individuals.
The time of release from incarceration to transitional housing is a particularly difficult adjustment period, and obtaining medical care and medications is often overwhelming. Consequently, women returning to the community often forgo the care they need, despite having a significantly higher prevalence of chronic conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, addictive behaviors, and mental health conditions. Working closely with the Connecticut Department of Correction, InMOTION will offer primary and holistic care along with prescription fulfillment where women are living to test the feasibility of mobile medical care to prevent disruptions in care for this population and thus a better outcome.
“We hope this mobile retail pharmacy and clinic will improve access to whole person healthcare for women as they reenter the community after incarceration by overcoming barriers that they often face including lack of transportation and substantial stigma,” said Springer.
“Community-based approaches are important strategies to reach vulnerable women. With the support of the Women’s Health Research at Yale pilot program grant, we hope to demonstrate the feasibility of this model of care to reach at risk women during a tumultuous transition to improve their health outcomes,” said Shenoi.
To learn more about Women’s Health Research at Yale, visit medicine.yale.edu/whr.
About Women’s Health Research at Yale
Women’s Health Research at Yale is an interdisciplinary research center within Yale School of Medicine. Its mission is to improve the health and well-being of everyone. The center studies a wide breadth of topics from cardiovascular disease to cancers and the health of women, examining health differences between and among women and men. Since its inception in 1998, Women’s Health Research at Yale has been recognized as a national model for launching research, translating findings, sharing health information with the public and policymakers, and providing mentored training in interdisciplinary team science. Follow Women’s Health Research at Yale on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram and subscribe to their newsletter, Innovations in Women’s Health.