American Heart Association Awards $100,000 Grants to Five Institutions to Close Women's Health Research Gaps

Despite decades of progress in cardiovascular science, women continue to face significant gaps in research, diagnosis, and treatment, according to a report published by the American Heart Association and the McKinsey Health Institute. To help close those gaps, the American Heart Association, through its American Heart Association Ventures’ Studio Red, today announced the recipients of the Redefining Women’s Health: From Heart to Head to Hormones translational research grant awards.

Each grant recipient will receive $100,000 to accelerate high-potential, translational research projects designed to move promising discoveries toward real-world application. During the one-year award period, Studio Red—part of American Heart Association Ventures—will provide grantees with support and education on topics including intellectual property, regulatory, reimbursement, and commercialization strategies. American Heart Association Ventures is the mission-driven venture capital program of the American Heart Association, a relentless force changing the future of health for everyone, everywhere. Studio Red creates and co-creates new companies to solve as-yet unsolved problems and market challenges in cardiovascular and brain health, and related conditions.

Winning projects span several Association priority research areas, including ischemia with non-obstructive coronary arteries, autoimmune disease, and heavy menstrual bleeding. The grant recipients include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which is designing a safer, non-invasive MRI technique that may help detect hidden heart blood vessel problems in women without the need for drugs, injections, or invasive procedures. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is developing a new blood test designed specifically for women that could help doctors diagnose autoimmune diseases earlier and more accurately, while also predicting which patients are at greater risk for severe illness. The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles, is using artificial intelligence to analyze medical records, heart images, and laboratory tests to identify women at risk for hidden heart blood vessel disease earlier and more accurately. The University of Maryland, Baltimore, is developing an AI-powered tool to help doctors more quickly identify the causes of heavy menstrual bleeding and recommend the most effective tests and treatments for each patient. The University of Pittsburgh is testing a novel ultrasound-based therapy that uses tiny bubbles and sound waves to improve blood flow in the heart’s smallest vessels and relieve chest pain in women with often-overlooked heart disease.

“Too often, conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women are overlooked or misunderstood in clinical care,” said Annabelle Volgman, M.D., American Heart Association volunteer and chair of the peer review committee for the Association’s translational research grant awards. “The projects we selected to fund stood out based on scientific rigor and the potential to translate into meaningful improvements in diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for women.”

Funded projects were selected based on their potential to create a clear pathway toward practical application and patient benefit. The selected projects focus on areas where innovation has the potential to meaningfully improve outcomes for women. “Many heart, brain and related conditions that disproportionately, differently or distinctly impact women remain underdiagnosed, undertreated and underfunded. Through this grant program, the American Heart Association is investing to advance groundbreaking research and novel solutions that will close critical gaps in health for women,” said Mariell Jessup, M.D., FAHA, the chief science and medical officer of the American Heart Association. “The projects selected represent the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking required to shape the future and bring new healthcare solutions closer to the women who need them.”

At the conclusion of the yearlong award period, one to two awardees may be selected for company incubation in Studio Red, which includes guidance during the early company formation process and support in reaching key funding milestones. The goal is to have one company created and ready for follow-on funding. This initiative underscores the American Heart Association’s commitment to ensuring equitable health for all, as detailed in its Call to Action for Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Epidemiology, Awareness, Access, and Delivery of Equitable Health Care: A Presidential Advisory From the American Heart Association | Circulation. For more information on women's health, visit American Heart Association News brings you the latest information women's health, and to learn about heart disease and stroke, go to heart.org and stroke.org.