Daniele W.

Hey Incora Fam,

My journey into women's health advocacy began through my passion for neuroscience. From the start of my career, I was fascinated by the intricacies of the brain, which led me to study epilepsy and its psychiatric and cognitive comorbidities during my Bachelor's and Master's degrees. But there was something missing—something I didn't even realize at first.

For years, my research, like so much of science, focused only on male subjects. It wasn’t until I started my PhD at one of Canada’s largest mother-child hospitals that I truly understood the extent of this gap. Studying childhood neurodevelopmental diseases, I began considering sex as a biological variable (SABV), uncovering how decades of research had overlooked crucial differences between men and women. It was eye-opening—and frustrating.

That realization changed my perspective forever. Neglecting sex differences in science has real consequences for women’s health, from misdiagnoses to ineffective treatments. Since then, I’ve been committed to advocating for more inclusive research that truly represents everyone.

Science should work for all of us. And that starts with making sure every step of the research journey includes women, too.