Dr. Michelle A. Williams Presents at the London School of Economics on Women’s Health
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵? 🔬 Last week, 480 people joined us in person and online for the LSE Health and LSE Department of Health Policy 2026 Annual Lecture, coinciding with International Women's Day. We were honoured to welcome Professor Michelle Williams (Stanford University), chaired by Professor Andrew Street, for a lecture that was both rigorously scientific and deeply urgent. 💡 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗺𝘀' 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: the women's health gap is not just a medical challenge, it is a global economic crisis hiding in plain sight. Drawing on 30+ years of research across four continents and studies including the Apple Women's Health Study, she made the case for a fundamentally different approach to women's health research, policy and investment. 📊 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗸: Less than 2% of healthcare R&D targets female-specific conditions beyond cancer. Endometriosis affects 190 million women globally yet receives $16M in NIH funding, while erectile dysfunction receives five times more. 🔍 - 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵: Preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are sentinel events predicting future cardiovascular disease and intergenerational metabolic risk. Prof Williams' research helped reverse decades of harmful guidance discouraging exercise in pregnancy. ⚕️ - 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: Black women in the UK face a 3× higher maternal mortality rate than white women. Intimate partner violence, structural racism and poverty don't sit outside the biology: they shape it. ⚖️ - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: Closing the gender gap could add $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040. In the UK, every £1 invested in obstetrics and gynaecology returns £11, yet maternity negligence cost the NHS £1.3 billion in 2024-25 alone. 💷 - 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗿: AI, wearables and academic-private partnerships, including the Apple Women's Health Study with 120,000+ participants, are amplifying epidemiology in ways unimaginable a generation ago. 📱 “𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲.” — Professor Michelle A. Williams