The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) is a national non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. SWHR is the thought leader in research on biological differences in disease and is dedicated to transforming women's health through science, advocacy, and education. Founded in 1990 by Florence Haseltine, PhD, MD, SWHR aims to bring national attention to the need for the appropriate inclusion of women and minorities in major medical research studies and the need for more information about diseases and conditions affecting women exclusively, predominantly, or differently than men. It also promotes the analysis of research data for sex and ethnic differences; and informs women, healthcare providers, and policy makers about contemporary women's health issues through media outreach, briefings, conferences, and special events. As a result of SWHR's work, women and minorities are now included in medical research and clinical trials; scientists are researching the ways in which health conditions and diseases affect men and women differently and why. Through SWHR's use of evidence-based research and multi-pronged policy and public education efforts, as well as the involvement of health care providers and policy makers dedicated to improving women's health, sex differences is now a national priority. History SWHR was founded by Florence Haseltine as the Society for the Advancement of Women's Health Research in 1990. When Haseltine began working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she was told that her "role was to champion the field of obstetrics and gynecology," which at the time were under-represented in research. In 1985, NIH lacked sufficient in-house expertise and funding for academic scientists. When her friend, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, developed ovarian cancer, Haseltine seized the opportunity to promote the need for more research into conditions affecting women. In the spring of 1989, Dr. Haseltine gathered friends and colleagues from medical and scientific organizations across the country to address this critical issue. They congregated at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and agreed on the need not only for more gynecological research at NIH but also for research regarding women's health in general. This meeting gave rise to SWHR. In 1990, due to biases in biomedical research, the health of American women was at risk. SWHR's first Board of Directors made it their priority to confront this injustice. They worked with the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, its Executive Director - Leslie Primer, and Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to persuade the General