Women's Health: Genes, Data and Advancing Approaches

This new conference will focus on the health of women across a woman’s lifespan, from early development through the reproductive years and into maturity. Health disparities, sex differences, and how research can be translated to improve women’s health will be explored. Cutting-edge research methods will be a further theme, with genetic determinants and genomic studies embedded throughout the programme.

We invite abstract submissions on work relating to the broad themes of the conference. In addition to invited talks by leaders in the field, podium presentations will be selected from offered abstracts. Posters and poster-pitch talks will provide further opportunities to present research findings, or get feedback on ongoing projects.

This hybrid meeting is intended to foster knowledge exchange and help establish collaboration between scientists and clinicians working in laboratory, epidemiology, and clinical science related to women’s health. Researchers from other disciplines wanting to learn more about recent developments are encouraged to attend. This meeting aims to be highly interactive with face-to-face networking encouraged through inclusive meals. Optional on-site accommodation is available.

The conference will run from 12.00 GMT on Monday 27 January 2025 until 13:50 on Wednesday 29 January 2025.

Discussions will focus on a variety of exciting topics, including

• Innovation in women’s health research
• Early development, pregnancy & reproductive health
• Health across the lifespan and into maturity
• Translating research to benefit women’s health
• Sex differences in health
• Health disparities

Scientific programme committee

Deborah Lawlor
University of Bristol, UK                

Elisabet Stener-Victorin
Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Martha Hickey
University of Melbourne, Australia 

Miriam Mutebi
Aga Khan University, Kenya 

Keynote speakers

Andrea Dunaif 
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA

Anna Murray
University of Exeter, UK

Confirmed speakers

Camilla Stoltenberg
NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Norway

Carolina Borges
University of Bristol, UK

Cristina Giuliani
University of Bologna, Italy

Emma Kidd
Cardiff University, UK 

Enny da Paixao Cruz
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK

Karen Nakawala
Teal Sisters Foundation, Zambia

Linda Griffith 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

Mattia Gerli
University College London (UCL), UK

Paul Pharoah
Cedars-Sinai, USA

Petter Brodin
Imperial College, UK & Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Qiaolin Deng
Karolinska Institute, Sweden

Roser Vento-Tormo
Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK

Conference organisers - Wellcome Connecting Science

Jemma Hume – Event Organiser
Jane Murphy – Programme Developer

Registration deadlines: Tuesday 6 January (in person) | 20 January 2025 (virtual) at 23:59 GMT

The in-person registration fee includes:

• Full access to scientific programme: oral and poster presentations, and networking on campus
• Access to the online conference portal to network with online participants
• Meals (lunch and dinner) and refreshments during the conference. Breakfast will be provided for delegates who have booked onsite accommodation.
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, which will be available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends

Virtual registration fee includes:

• Access to the virtual event portal (Log in details will be emailed a few days before the event starts)
• Live-stream sessions, including posters and online networking channels
• Recordings of the live-stream sessions, available ‘on-demand’ for four weeks after the event ends.

* To promote more inclusive scientific discussions with international colleagues at our conferences, delegates based in Lower and Middle-Income Countries can register for free (see list of countries here).

Payments: Please note that payment can only be made with Mastercard or Visa credit cards.

If you are an editor or journalist, please contact the conference organiser for more information about the discounted fee.

Accommodation
Booked accommodation is for the nights of 27  and 28 January 2025.
Please note: there is limited onsite accommodation and this will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, early registration is recommended.

If you wish to book campus accommodation either side of the conference dates, please contact the Hinxton Hall Conference Centre directly.

Accommodation services phishing scam – please be vigilant. More information.

Travel visas
Citizens of many countries can travel to the UK to attend a course or conference without needing a visa. Please check the UK government website for visitor information: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor.

Confirmed attendees requiring a letter to support a visa application should contact the event organiser.

Bursary deadline: Tuesday 11 Nov at 23:59 GMT

Wellcome Connecting Science offers registration bursaries (usually up to 50% of the registration fee) to those who would benefit from attending the conference but face financial barriers to attending events. Priority is usually given to PhD students, applicants from lower and middle income countries, or those from underrepresented / minoritised groups. Other early career researchers will be considered if funds allow. We strongly encourage applicants to submit an abstract on their research results or ongoing project before the bursary deadline. Final edits can be made to the abstract up until the abstract deadline. Bursary applications without abstracts will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

To apply for funding support, please register and then select that you want to apply for a bursary. This will direct you to the online application form. Please be prepared to explain why you need support and how you will benefit from attending the conference. Once you have submitted the application form, you will be emailed an abstract portal link. Please use this to submit an abstract beforebursary deadline.

Additional funding opportunities
Visit our support page for information on financial support, including carer grants to help delegates with the costs of caring for children or dependent family members while attending a course or a conference.

Abstract deadline: Tuesday 26 November 2024 at 23:59 GMT

We welcome abstracts from all areas relevant to the main themes of the meeting for both oral and poster presentations. Several oral presentations will be chosen from the abstracts submitted.

To submit an abstract, you must first register for the conference. Once your registration is completed, you will be emailed a link to submit to the abstract submission portal. If you wish to edit your abstract following submission, please use the link in the abstract acknowledgement email.

All abstracts must be submitted and, if desired, edited by the deadline. The scientific programme committee will then assess your abstract and you will be notified about 2 weeks after the deadline whether you have been selected to present an oral or poster presentation.

If you require acknowledgement that your abstract has been accepted earlier than this, please contact the conference organiser.

Poster boards onsite will accommodate 118 cm high by 84 cm wide (A0-portrait) of printed material. Accepted abstracts will appear in the conference programme book; poster board numbers will be allocated at the conference. All those accepted for a poster presentation will be given the opportunity to upload a short video describing their work.

With thanks to our sponsors:

If you are interested in supporting this meeting, please contact the sponsorship manager.

See our sponsorship page for information about the benefits.