Dr. Alicia Jackson, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), says the first lady's new women's health initiative will enable the United States to finally close a decades-old research gap and deliver real medical breakthroughs for women.
"Literally until 1993, women were not required to be included in research," Jackson said in a video released by the White House Rapid Response team. "So just imagine that."
A Chance to Catch Up—and Then Push Ahead
Jackson said the initiative gives America the opportunity "to not only catch up in our understanding of women's bodies, but actually to go take the most exciting research that's out there" and turn it into real results.
She highlighted key areas where women's health has been understudied and where the initiative will focus: ovarian health, brain health, bone health, and cardiovascular health.
Cardiovascular disease, Jackson noted, "affects women disproportionately and differently than men," making dedicated research essential.
Why She Came to Washington
The ARPA-H director said the chance to lead this work is what drew her to the nation's capital.
"That is exactly why I came to Washington DC," Jackson said.
