Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH, is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1880s and is now part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Many NIH facilities are located in Bethesda, Maryland, and other nearby suburbs of the Washington metropolitan area, with other primary facilities in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and smaller satellite facilities located around the United States. The NIH conducts its own scientific research through the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) is one of the institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two founding members of Mass General Brigham, the largest healthcare provider in Massachusetts. Robert Higgins, MD, MSHA serves as the hospital's current president.
The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is the world's largest nonprofit organization serving people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The NPF provides information and services to help people manage their condition while supporting research to find a cure. In addition to serving more than 3 million people annually through patient and professional health education and advocacy initiatives, the NPF has funded more than $10 million in psoriatic disease research grants and fellowships.
Elizabeth Nabel is an American cardiologist and Executive Vice President of Strategy at ModeX Therapeutics and OPKO Health. Prior to this role, she served as President of Brigham Health and its Brigham and Women's Hospital, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Eva Lucille Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., F.A.N.A. is an American physician-scientist and one of the world’s leading authorities on neurodegenerative disease. Currently, she serves as the Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan, as well as Director of the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies and ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine. She was also recently named the James W. Albers Distinguished University Professor of Neurology.
A glossary of terms used in clinical research.
Female genital disease is a disorder of the structure or function of the female reproductive system that has a known cause and a distinctive group of symptoms, signs, or anatomical changes. The female reproductive system consists of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, and vulva. Female genital diseases can be classified by affected location or by type of disease, such as malformation, inflammation, or infection.
Marianne J. Legato is an American physician, author, lecturer, and renowned expert in gender-specific medicine, which focuses on understanding how biological sex and gender influence human health and the experience of diseases.
Gender-biased diagnosing is the idea that medical and psychological diagnosis are influenced by the gender of the patient. Several studies have found evidence of differential diagnosis for patients with similar ailments but of different sexes. Female patients face discrimination through the denial of treatment or miss-classification of diagnosis as a result of not being taken seriously due to stereotypes and gender bias. According to traditional medical studies, most of these medical studies were done on men thus overlooking many issues that were related to women's health. This topic alone sparked controversy and brought about question to the medical standard of our time. Popular media has illuminated the issue of gender bias in recent years. Research that was done on diseases that affected women more were less funded than those diseases that affected men and women equally.
The NIH Clinical Center is a hospital solely dedicated to clinical research at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The Clinical Center, known as Building 10, consists of the original part of the hospital, the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, and the newest addition, the Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center. The two parts are connected to form one large building.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Identified by the 2012 World Development Report as one of two key human capital endowments, health can influence an individual's ability to reach his or her full potential in society. Yet while gender equality has made the most progress in areas such as education and labor force participation, health inequality between men and women continues to harm many societies to this day.
Florence Pat Haseltine is a U.S. physician, biophysicist, reproductive endocrinologist, journal editor, novelist, inventor, and advocate for women's health. She has been diagnosed with dyslexia. She built a diverse career in medicine. An associate professor at Yale University, her work specializes in obstetrics and gynecology as well as women's rights and gender bias in medicine. While at Yale, Haseltine established the embryology laboratory, which was one of the early labs to have a successful IVF baby. The Microscope used in the laboratory is now in Historical Collections of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
Vivian Winona Pinn is an American physician-scientist and pathologist known for her advocacy of women's health issues and concerns, particularly for ensuring that federally funded medical studies include female patients, and well as encouraging women to follow medical and scientific careers. She served as associate director for research on women's health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), concurrently was the inaugural director of NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health. Pinn previously taught at Harvard University, Tufts University, and Howard University College of Medicine. Since retiring from NIH in 2011, Pinn has continued working as a senior scientist emerita at the Fogarty International Center.
Paula Adina Johnson is a cardiologist and the current president of Wellesley College. She is the first Black woman to serve in this role. The first Black graduate of Wellesley College came in the year 1887, and 129 years later President Johnson became the first Black leader. Prior to her role as president of Wellesley, Johnson founded and served as the inaugural executive director of the Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology, as well as Chief of the Division of Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Dr. Johnson's background in working for the betterment of women in the field of health led her on a notable path to Wellesley College, a women's college right outside of Boston, where there is an emphasis on the role of women in STEM.
Ayman Al-Hendy, is a professor and director of translational research from Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago. His branch of medical/surgical knowledge is obstetrics and gynecology, particularly in the spheres of “gene/stem cell therapy”, “reproductive genetics”, and “stem cell biology”.
Janine Austin Clayton is an American ophthalmologist. She is the NIH associate director for research on women's health and director of the Office of Women's Health. Clayton was previously the deputy clinical director of the National Eye Institute.
Erika F. Augustine is an Associate Chief Science Officer and Director of the Clinical Trials Unit at Kennedy Krieger Institute. She was previously an Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York. Augustine co-directed the University of Rochester Batten Center, and was the associate director of both the Center for Health and Technology and the Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson's Disease Research. Augustine's clinical research and medical practice specialize in pediatric movement disorders. She leads clinical trials for Batten diseases, a group of rare pediatric neurodegenerative disorders, and she has developed a novel telemedicine model to increase the efficacy of remote care for patients with rare diseases.
Sex as a biological variable (SABV) is a research policy recognizing sex as an important variable to consider when designing studies and assessing results. Research including SABV has strengthened the rigor and reproducibility of findings. Public research institutions including the European Commission, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the U.S. National Institutes of Health have instituted SABV policies. Editorial policies were established by various scientific journals recognizing the importance and requiring research to consider SABV.
