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Men historically have been used as the standard for health care research, which has led to a delay in discovering the cause, prediction and treatment of countless women’s health issues.

One such condition, preeclampsia — a high blood pressure disorder that can occur during pregnancy — will be the subject of an important discussion among a lineup of all-star researchers.

On Feb. 9, The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth School of Biomedical Sciences is hosting the Women’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health Symposium.

This year’s event brings an all-star line-up of speakers and subject matter experts to discuss and present their current findings on women’s cardiovascular and brain health research.

“The Women’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health Symposium allows HSC to be an incubator and safe zone for discussions, innovation and research, and a place to derive new holistic and comprehensive strategies to improve women’s health,” said Dr. Mark Cunningham, an assistant professor of physiology and one of the event’s organizers. “In the past, women’s health has been overlooked, and HSC wants to be a part of the paradigm shift to make women’s health care and research a priority with the goal of improving the health and well-being of all women.”

This lack of understanding led Dr. Styliani “Stella” Goulopoulou to establish the Women’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health. The former associate professor at HSC, now an associate professor of physiology at the Lawrence Longo Center for Perinatal Biology in Loma Linda, California, dedicated her career to women’s health research. She holds both a master’s and doctorate in physiology from Syracuse University.

“My initial goal was to create an event that raises awareness about gaps in knowledge of female physiology and women’s health and their impact on medicine and our society,” she said.

Speakers at this year’s symposium include Dr. Nina Stachenfield, fellow, John B. Pierce Laboratory; Dr. Kyrah Brown, assistant professor and director of maternal and child health equity research at the University of Texas at Arlington; and Dr. Junie “Paula” Warrington, associate professor in the University of Mississippi Medical Center Department of Neurology and assistant director of that university’s neuroscience program. Goulopoulou will be the keynote speaker.

This symposium allows the local science community to come together, discuss, learn and collaborate. Goulopoulou and others hope the event will inspire future scientists to continue researching, thinking and spurring on change.

Those attending the symposium will have the chance to learn about research addressing women’s cardiovascular and brain health. They will hear from students and postdoctoral fellows as they present their work. Attendees’ participation will foster regional and local research collaborations and raise awareness about the importance of women’s health research.

“Our annual Women’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health Symposium is a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness and foster collaboration around important topics in women’s health research,” said Dr. Michael Mathis, dean of the HSC School of Biomedical Sciences. “We’re very excited to bring leading experts from the research and health care communities to our campus for this signature event.”

The free event will be held in HSC’s Medical Education and Training Building, and breakfast and lunch will be provided.

To register for this event, please visit: https://wcbh2023.dryfta.com.

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