Gender and science: our expert to speak at global summit
Dr Sanne Peters from The George Institute UK has been invited to speak at a major global conference in November aimed at identifying and tackling sex and gender issues in science, research and innovation.
Gender Summit 7 Europe 2015 in Berlin, Germany will advance the understanding of when, how and why gender issues in research can produce different outcomes for women and men. It is part of a series of Gender Summits around the world with conferences also being held North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa.
Dr Peters is a Research Fellow in Epidemiology who will speak on her work in women’s health and sex-specific risk factors for cardiovascular diseases.
“It is an honour to speak at this Summit, and to highlight the importance of a sex-specific approach to health research,” she said.
“Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest killers among women globally, yet are still largely seen as a 'man's problem'. Since women are often underrepresented in cardiovascular research, data on men are frequently used as the norm group for the entire population and clinical practices in women are frequently based on evidence obtained from male populations.
“With the wider availability of sex-disaggregated health research, we start to learn about important differences between men and women throughout the entire life course of cardiovascular diseases. Such information is relevant to the formulation of tailored strategies for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in men and women.”
The George Institute is a strong supporter of sex-specific research and gender equality in science, recently committing to the UN Global Goals for sustainable future which advocated for equality in all fields, and joining the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) initiative, an Australian adaptation of the UK’s successful Athena SWAN Charter program.
Principal Director of The George Institute Professor Robyn Norton said: “The George Institute has always had strong gender representation in our team and we are pleased to be leaders in this area.”
