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September 30 October 2

Women’s Health Conference 2026

Multi generational women having fun together at park - Multiracial people meet and hugging each other outdoor
Location
Simmons University, in the Main College Building’s Linda K. Paresky Conference Center
300 Fenway
Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Time

8:00 am 5:00 pm

Event Type

Conferences and Symposia

Overview

The global Women’s Health Conference was launched in 2023 by the Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health (GloW) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, in collaboration with Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Following the successful conferences held in Singapore in 2023 and 2024 and in Paris in 2025, the 2026 conference will take place in Boston from September 30 to October 2, 2026.

The 2026 meeting is co-organized by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, GloW at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, and the Institute for Women and Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Health (iWISH) at Université Paris Cité. The conference will highlight cutting-edge advances shaping women’s health across the life course.

Despite increasing global attention, women’s health remains under-researched and underfunded in many critical domains. Women experience unique biological transitions—from puberty and pregnancy to menopause and aging—that shape lifelong health trajectories. Addressing these complexities requires coordinated, interdisciplinary, and global collaboration.

This conference will convene leading scientists, clinicians, innovators, policymakers, and global organizations to accelerate solutions that improve health outcomes for women worldwide.

The scientific program will feature:

  • Breakthroughs in precision nutrition and lifestyle medicine
  • Advances in fertility, pregnancy, and reproductive health
  • New approaches to mental health and brain health
  • Healthy aging, cognition, and cardiometabolic health
  • The expanding role of AI and femtech in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention
  • Global women’s health and health equity

The program will include plenary lectures, thematic panels, poster sessions, lightning talks by junior investigators, and a special session featuring international organizations and foundations focused on sustaining global investment in women’s health research.

The conference will conclude with a half-day symposium commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), the largest and longest-running study of women’s health, established in 1976.

Registration

Register to join us in-person or on livestream (via Zoom). Registration is free and open to the public.
*Please note that no certificates of attendance will be provided*

Abstract Submission

Call for abstracts: Submit your abstract for a chance to present a poster or give a flash talk. Trainees and investigators within five years of earning their terminal degree are eligible to present a flash talk. Please follow these rules and guidelines and use this template to prepare your abstract.

All abstracts (for both poster session and flash talks) must be presented in-person.

Deadline: Abstract submission deadline is May 15th, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.

Organizers

Scientific Organizing Committee

  • Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School (Committee Chair)
  • Cuilin Zhang, MD, PhD, Chair Professor of Women’s Health; Founding Director, Global Centre for Asian Women’s Health (GloW), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (Committee Co-Chair)
  • Yap Seng Chong, MBBS, MD, Lien Ying Chow Professor in Medicine; Dean, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
  • Heather Eliassen, ScD, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Professor of Medicine, Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School
  • Jorge E. Chavarro, MD, ScD, Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology; Dean for Academic Affairs, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
  • Kathryn M. Rexrode, MD, MPH, Chief, Division of Women’s Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Chief Academic Officer, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Michelle A. Williams, ScD, Professor of Epidemiology and Population Health; Associate Chair for Academic Affairs, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine
  • Melissa Bondy, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University School of Medicine
  • Rosa Maria Bruno, PhD, Professor in Clinical Pharmacology, Université Paris Cité; Head of the Hypertension Unit of Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Paris, France; iWISH, Institute for Women Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Health, Université Paris Cité
  • Clarisse Berthezène, PhD, Professor of History, Université Paris Cité; Chair, Institut Universitaire de France; iWISH, Institute for Women Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Health, Université Paris Cité

Administrative Organizing Committee

  • Katrina Soriano, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Jessie Powell, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Tentative Program

Opening Session

8:30–9:00 AM
Welcome and Opening Remarks

AI and Digital Innovation in Women’s Health

9:00–9:20 AM
Leveraging Human Organ Chips to Provide New Insights into Women’s Health

9:20–9:40 AM
AI-guided Integration of Biological and Clinical Knowledge for Maternal and Child Health.s Health

9:40–10:00 AM
Artificial Intelligence in Obstetrics: Opportunities and Challenges in Maternal–Fetal Medicine

10:00–10:20 AM
AI and FemTech in Women’s Health

10:20–10:40 AM
Wearables, Data Science, and Performance: Insights from Women Athletes

10:40–11:00 AM
Panel Discussion

11:00–11:20 AM | Coffee Break

Precision Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine

11:20–11:40 AM
Mediterranean Diet Interventions and Women’s Health: Evidence from Cohort Studies and Trials

11:40–12:00 PM
Healthy Diets for People and Planet: Integrating Human and Planetary Health

12:00–12:20 PM
Nutrition and Women’s Health: over life course and across generations 

12:20–12:40 PM
Panel Discussion

12:40–1:30 PM | Lunch

Hormones, Cardiometabolic and Vascular Health

1:30-2:00 PM
Keynote Lecture: Menopausal Hormone Therapy: Evolution of Evidence and Current Clinical Recommendations

2:00–2:20 PM
Cardiovascular Disease in Women: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Prevention

2:20–2:40 PM
Vascular Aging in Women: Mechanisms, Measurement, and Clinical Implications

2:40–3:00 PM
Cardiometabolic Diseases in Asian Populations: Unique Risk Profiles and Prevention Strategies

3:00–3:20 PM
Sex Differences in GLP-1–Based Therapies: Implications for Cardiometabolic Health

3:20–3:40 PM
Panel Discussion

3:40–4:00 PM | Coffee Break

Lightning Talks by Young Investigators

4:00–5:00 PM
Selected Abstract Presentations

Healthy Aging and Mental Health

8:30–8:50 AM
Brain Aging in Women: Biomarkers, Imaging and Risk for Dementia

8:50–9:10 AM
Brain Health and Aging: Clinical and Population Perspectives

9:10–9:30 AM
Depression and Mental Health in Women: Risk Factors and Prevention

9:30–9:50 AM
Panel Discussion

9:50–10:10 AM | Coffee Break

Reproductive Health I: Pregnancy, Fertility, Endometriosis, and PCOS 

10:10–10:30 AM
Nutrition and Fertility: Evidence from Prospective Cohorts and Clinical Studies

10:30–10:50 AM
Endometriosis and PCOS: Epidemiology, Mechanisms, and Clinical Management

10:50-11:10 am
Menstrual Blood as a Novel Biofluid for Endometriosis Research and Diagnosis

11:10–11:25 AM
Panel Discussion

Reproductive Health II: Pregnancy, Fertility, Endometriosis, and PCOS 

11:25–11:45 AM
Preconception Health and Offspring Outcomes: Insights from the GUSTO and S-PRESTO Cohorts

11:45–12:05 AM
Environmental Exposures and Reproductive Health: Emerging Evidence

12:05 AM–12:25 PM
Autoimmune Diseases in Women: Epidemiology and Clinical Implications

12:25–12:40 PM
Panel Discussion

12:40–1:30 PM | Lunch

Global Women’s Health and Health Equity

1:30–1:50 PM
THE STRESS TEST WE IGNORE: Reclaiming Prevention as Women’s Health Policy

1:50–2:10 PM
Therapeutic Mobility and Breast Cancer: Lived Experiences of African Women in Europe

2:10–2:40 PM
Advancing Global Women’s Reproductive Health: The confluence of Science, Programs and Policy Innovation

2:40–3:00 PM
Panel Discussion

3:00–3:20 PM | Coffee Break

Global Women’s Health Impact Tracking Platform

3:20–4:15 PM
Special Session: Global Women’s Health Impact Tracking Platform (WHIT)

4:15–5:00 PM
Spotlight on NUS–Harvard Chan Women’s Health Initiative (NUSHINE)

Reception and Poster Presentations

5:00–8:00 PM
Location: Veritas Science Center (formerly Harvard Medical School New Research Building) – 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA

NHS at 50: Celebrating Discovery, Inspiring Generations

8:30–8:45 AM
Welcome

8:45–9:15 AM
Nurses’ Health Study: History, Landmark Discoveries, and Public Health Impact

9:15–9:45 AM
Diet and Nutrition Across the Life Course: Lessons from NHS

9:45–10:45 AM
Lightning Talks by Junior NHS Investigators

10:45–11:05 AM | Coffee Break

11:05 AM–12:05 PM
NHS Principal Investigator Panel

12:05-12:35 PM
NHS participant panel

Closing remarks

ⓘ Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.