In the Company of Scholars:
Yale Women In A Changing World
Post Conference Resources

April 30 & May 1, 2004
Susanna E. Krentz ’80, Chair

Women's Health Plenary
Women's Health Research: Evolving Knowledge and Changing Practice

Carolyn Mazure, Professor of Psychiatry, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the Medical School, and Director of Women's Health Research at Yale, spoke about new developments in interdisciplinary research being conducted by Yale faculty affiliated with Women's Health Research at Yale. Prior to the mid-1990s, two-thirds of all diseases that affect both women and men were studied exclusively in men. It was not until 1993 that the National Institutes of Health required that women be included in clinical research trials in order to remediate our understanding of the health of women.

Yale responded to the need for more research on women by starting the Women's Health Research at Yale program in 1998 for the explicit purpose of funding studies that would affect women.

Following the address by Professor Mazure, conference participants took part in "breakout" sessions featuring discussions with faculty and alumnae who are leaders in the areas of research and health policy pertaining to women. Discussion topics included heart disease; the role of dietary protein on bone health; infertility; the impact of new technologies on breast cancer treatment; developmental disorders such as Tourette's syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; and the links between cigarette smoking and depression.

Reception, Dinner, and Afterglow

Participants joined women faculty members for networking and socializing over a casual dinner in University Commons. Dinner was followed by a wonderful evening of music, entertaining the group with selections from around the world and featuring undergraduate women's groups - including Unity - the Korean drumming group, the Yale Women's Slavic Chorus and a cappella singing groups, Proof of the Pudding, Something Extra, and Whim 'n Rhythm. The rousing rendition of Bright College Years that closed out the dinner was likely the first time such a large all female chorus had ever performed the alma mater! A reception in the Presidents' Room at Commons allowed participants to linger and socialize late into the evening.