Our Research

Since 1998, Women’s Health Research at Yale has been an important incubator catalyzing research into women’s health at Yale through its signature Pilot Project Program – examining conditions and disorders that differently, disproportionately, and uniquely affect women.

One of our earliest landmark Pilot Projects, led by Bruce Haffty, MD, MS, revealed patients with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, even after being diagnosed and undergoing treatment for breast cancer, resulted in a greater risk of breast cancer recurrence than women without the mutation. BRCA continues to be the gold-standard indicator for hereditary breast cancer risk, helping patients and physicians alike make more informed health decisions about risk mitigation.

Another important Pilot Project discovery led by Peter Glazer, MD, PhD, was that presence of a lupus antibody can penetrate certain types of cancer cells and make them more vulnerable to radiation and chemotherapy. This discovery unlocks promising new pathways for precision-based cancer treatments – translating better outcomes for women and men alike.

Studying the health of women also improves the health of men. Through another translational Pilot Project, Yale immunologist Akiko Iwasaki, PhD, revealed the essential role of more robust T-cells to viral infections in women and an overproduction of the inflammatory protein cytokines in men, explaining why more men were dying of COVID-19 than women. Her expedient research provided an important basis for the development of a sex-based approach to the treatment and care of male and female patients with COVID-19.

Join Women’s Health Research at Yale as we foster collaborations and discovery, accelerate breakthroughs from research bench to patient bedside, and bridge sectors – from academic medicine to health systems, pharmaceuticals to philanthropy, public sector and beyond.

Learn more about our work.