Director’s Message 

Rapidly evolving research findings in sex and gender medicine underscore the importance of women’s health and of translating these findings into practice.  For example, many women fear breast cancer, yet heart disease remains women’s leading cause of death.  In addition, current studies make the role of preventing disease less clear in menopausal women.  Nicotine is more addictive and smoking may have a more negative effect on the cardiovascular health of women.  Addressing the puzzle as to why Black women die at higher rates than White women with breast cancer, we know now that some black women may have a more virulent type of cancer, not just issues of access.  Gender-based health disparities in manifestation, diagnosis, treatment and outcome continue to exist.
 
At the Women’s Health Education Program we translate new scientific findings about women’s health into educational opportunities for our students.  At each level of our activities – lectures, resource sessions, workshops, bulletin boards, seminar series, women’s-health themed days, community participatory and educational research activities, health fairs and community health education sessions – our students are involved.  This hands-on, impact-education approach makes women’s ealth a vibrant, interactive, relevant and responsive component to the educational experience at Drexel University College of Medicine.  The Women’s Health Education Program is a program within the Department of Medicine.
 
From garnering our Ambassador for Change designation (our National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health designation by the Department of Health and Human Services), to engaging students in national programming and effectively generating grant monies, WHEP successfully continues to make advances.
 
Our diverse staff with expertise in clinical medicine, social justice activism, public policy advocacy, educational innovation, public health, statistical analysis, ethnographic research modalities, community network development, student-focused services/counseling and minority recruitment/faith-based outreach has a depth and breadth of talents that well suits our mission. 
 
From students applying to our school who hear about our work to those engaged in educational research, pathway programming or professional development, the Women’s Health Education Program builds upon our historical legacy and focuses upon the next generation of leaders in girl’s and women’s health.

Ana E. Núñez, M.D. 
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Women’s Health Education Program