Women's Health Research at Yale Fuels New Scientific Discovery

With a mission to catalyze research that improves the lives of women, Women’s Health Research at Yale’s Pilot Project Program forges ahead with its innovative and replicable model to better understand sex differences in health in order to improve the health of all. In its 28^th year, the annual Pilot Project Program injects crucial funding into research at the earliest stages of discovery into health conditions that differently, disproportionately, and uniquely affect women.

This year, Women’s Health Research at Yale is funding two new, compelling projects, both examining circulation problems in women. These studies were selected by the center’s interdisciplinary Scientific Review Committee, composed of Yale physicians and scientists. The 2025 research awards are From Headaches to Heart Attacks: Linking Dynamic Vascular Dysfunction in Women with Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome and Coronary Vasospasm led by a neurology-cardiology team and Botulinum Toxin: A Targeted Approach for Hand Vasculopathy in Women with Autoimmune Disorders, spearheaded by a dermatology physician-scientist.

“Both of these Pilot Project Program studies hold tremendous promise," says Basmah Safdar, MD, Norma Weinberg Spungen and Joan Lebson Bildner Professor of Women's Health Research, professor of emergency medicine, and director of Women's Health Research at Yale. "It makes sense to investigate circulatory problems through a systemic lens as well as through collaborations. If we can better identify the common connection between brain and heart disease – both underdiagnosed in young women – and improve blood flow in the hands of women suffering from autoimmune disorders, we might uncover root causes that could potentially be reversed and offer solutions that can make a major difference in many lives. They are excellent demonstrations of the power of interdisciplinary science."

This year’s Wendy U. and Thomas C. Naratil Pioneer Award will support a vascular neurologist and interventional cardiologist as co-Principal Investigators in their efforts to establish a link between two underdiagnosed syndromes — reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) and coronary vasospasm — which cause dynamic narrowing of blood vessels in the brain and heart, respectively.

RCVS is a rare condition in which blood vessels in the brain temporarily narrow, causing sudden, severe headaches and restricting blood flow to the brain. Common triggers include certain medications, recreational drugs, pregnancy or postpartum, severe stress or physical exertion, or other conditions that affect blood vessels. Coronary vasospasm occurs when the blood vessels supplying the heart temporarily “spasm” or tighten, again restricting blood flow, but this time to the heart muscle. For someone experiencing this, it can feel similar to a heart attack. Despite a comparable effect on the blood vessels, these conditions have not been systematically studied for a common link.

Reshma Narula, MD, associate professor of neurology (vascular neurology), and Samit Shah, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (cardiovascular medicine), will analyze more than a decade of clinical data to assess the prevalence of RCVS and identify potential associations with coronary vasospasm and other forms of ischemic heart disease. Despite advances in stroke prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, young women (under the age of 35) are 44% more likely to suffer a stroke caused by a blockage compared to men, and the incidence of stroke in young women is rising.

The goal of this project is to highlight common risk factors for dynamic cerebral and coronary vascular dysfunction. This can improve clinical awareness, guide diagnostic testing, and lead to targeted therapies. Heart disease and stroke, where blood flow to the heart or brain is impaired, affect more than 6 million women in the United States and are leading causes of death among women.

Regarding Women’s Health Research at Yale’s support for this one-year project, the Narula-Shah team says, “Funding from Women’s Health Research at Yale enables us to investigate cardiovascular and neurological conditions that are more prevalent in women. Our goal is to find a common biological link between two clinical syndromes that are underdiagnosed. Investing in interdisciplinary research is crucial for uncovering biological sex differences that impact women, paving the way for breakthroughs that will improve health outcomes for women everywhere.”

Jeff Gehlhausen, MD, PhD, assistant professor in dermatology, received this year’s second Pilot Project Program award. As a physician-scientist, Gehlhausen’s two-year study will test the efficacy of botulinum toxin injections, commonly called Botox®, at the site of hand vasculopathy – reduced blood flow – in women with complex autoimmune-based skin conditions. Autoimmune disorders occur when the body’s immune system attacks, mistaking healthy cells for diseased ones. Some that lead to hand vasculopathy include scleroderma and lupus. Hand vasculopathy is a condition where impaired blood flow to the hand and fingers leads to severe pain, tissue damage, sores, ulcers, and in extreme cases, amputation.

Current treatments rely on medications that dilate blood vessels throughout the entire body, often causing debilitating side effects including severe headaches and low blood pressure. Patients are forced to choose between managing the symptoms of their hand vasculopathy or enduring additional health complications that are side effects of medication. For the individuals enrolled in the study, researchers will evaluate clinical improvements over time while collecting blood and tissue samples to understand the underlying biological mechanisms of the potential treatment.

This approach addresses a significant gap in health care, as 80% of people diagnosed with autoimmune diseases are women. This project aims to generate data for larger clinical trials and eventually FDA approval of this novel application.

Early-stage research, such as the studies funded by Women’s Health Research at Yale’s Pilot Project Program, serves as the foundation for any scientific discovery or breakthrough. Our investigators have changed the way scientists and clinicians understand and treat breast cancer, care for women after coronary bypass, develop new, targeted therapies using antibodies, and more.

When it comes to practical health, we are consistently investing in science that explores the most fatal and most life-altering conditions for women’s largest killers: cardiovascular disease, cancer, stroke, COVID-19, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Leveraging the findings and data resulting from our Pilot Projects, investigators have gone on to earn nearly $124 million in external grant dollars, representing a more than 20-fold impact.

"We take pride in providing seed funding at Yale that drives breakthroughs and benefits lives in our community and around the world,” says Safdar. “I envision a future where we can provide personalized care to each patient based on their disease – not where they live or whether they are a man or a woman. We have made some progress in women’s health over the decades, and yet we’ve only scraped the surface when it comes to understanding the multitudes of differences between men’s and women’s health. Much more research is needed to close these gaps, and Women’s Health Research at Yale is proud of our legacy and excited about the role we will play moving forward."

For nearly three decades, Women’s Health Research at Yale’s Pilot Project Program has provided critical early-stage funding for Yale faculty examining sex differences across health. New this year:

More Pilot Project Program Grant Opportunities
Increased Funding Amounts
Collaboration Across Yale School of Medicine and Yale University

Application Time Frame

Early November: Call for Letters of Intent

Early December: Letters of Intent Due

Early January 2026: Invitations for Full Application Issued

Early March 2026: Full Application Due

Spring 2026: Scientific Review Committee Meets

June 2026: Awards Announced

July 1, 2026: Projects Begin Aligned with Yale FY26

Visit medicine.yale.edu/whr/science/pilot-funding for the latest.