Keeping the Women we Love Healthy

Can you believe that it’s been almost 25 years since we started awarding research scholarships to undergraduate research students? Many are witnesses of the Howell Foundations growth: Our Board of Directors, Advisory and Legacy Councils, friends and especially our donors help us make sure awareness of the need for women’s health research continues to grow. Most importantly, you have been an integral part of our mission to “Keep the women we love healthy.”  We are extremely proud of your strive in the field of women’s health.  We are encouraged by your dedication and commitment.  Every time we see your publications, or we have the opportunity to follow your career, or we have you as a guest speaker at our events, our work to keep the women we love healthy comes full circle. As you may know, we lost our beloved Dr. Howell in 2018.  Now, more than ever, we are committed to keeping her legacy of care alive, specifically in the area of women’s health research....

The question is why are we passionate about women's health research? The need.  Women are not small men. The exclusion of female subjects in current research efforts may result in the misdiagnosis and consequently, erroneous medical treatment of women.  In the era of personalized medicine, a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach on the basis of results from male research subjects places women at a higher health risk.  We seek to end the bias at a research level. What we do:   The Doris A. Howell Foundation for Women’s Health Research is dedicated to making a long-term, positive impact on women’s health. It is THE premier organization advancing women’s health research. To that extent, the organization: Funds unique undergraduate  research scholarships  and  graduate nursing  research grants  to scientists researching  issues affecting  women’s health.  Presents the latest medical research  ...

Pictured Above: Dr. Brooke Emerling, winner of the Howell Fast Pitch Contest Award; Kathleen Franklin, Howell Foundation Board Member; and Dr. Carole Banka, former Howell Foundation Board Member and Fast Pitch judge.   Actually, we all are winners when it comes to learning about the latest research in metastatic breast cancer (MBC).  While efforts have reduced mortality rates by more than a third, the work in finding the cure has doubled. There are currently more than 150,000 women living with stage IV metastasized breast cancer in the US. The Susan G. Komen Foundation held it second Metastatic Breast Cancer Conference in March, where patients, providers and researchers came together to paint a picture of the current status and advancements in treatments for MBC.  Moderated by Farideh Z. Bischoff, Ph.D and CEO of FreMon Scientific, the program included presentations from a panel of experts in the field: Keith Wilner MD, Executive Director of Oncology at Pf...

Actually, no, it is not (good try mom!).   Even though the complexities of how the brain functions have not been fully discovered, exercising it should be part of our daily routine. Just ask author, speaker and recent addition to the Howell Board of Directors, Ruth Curran, MS. When I heard of all the incredible work Ruth has done throughout her career, the first thing that came to mind was “Brainiac.”   No, not the supervillain, superman-hating enemy in the comic books, more like an exceptionally -intelligent- woman kind of brainiac. Ruth, a Master in Science, suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2004 in a car accident. With a very particular perspective on life, she focused on the restoration of her cognitive capabilities by studying, writing and developing methods to improve her brain. On this path to recovery and becoming herself again -- and with much frustration in between-- she became very interested in the connection between the brain and her daily activi...

Much of the knowledge about diseases, treatment, and drug development are based on research results of male subjects, ignoring the possibility of gender differences and inferring that what works for men will work for women as well. Applying results of clinical studies that include only men affects women adversely.  Even though there has been a significant growth in health research regarding key differences between men and women, women are still underrepresented in many research areas. The Howell Foundation's key initiatives are focused on guaranteeing an emphasis on all areas of research that may affect women’s health, promoting the need for further women’s health research, avoiding research bias by addressing the backlog of research efforts that include women, and ensuring that all the progress in research is integrated in educational publications and information sources available to our community. It has only been a little over 25 years since the National Institutes of...

Scientists to present emerging research in Metastatic Breast Cancer  Howell Foundation to be a part of the panel of judges for research proposals at the event   The Doris A. Howell Foundation will be participating in the Komen Foundation’s conference ‘Concept to Cure: The Process from Research to Market and Living with Metastatic Breast Cancer’. The event will focus on the latest advances in metastatic breast cancer treatments, clinical trials, patient support and national issues for metastatic/stage IV breast cancer (MBC). The conference will host approximately 150 participants – including patients, families, supporters and the medical community, according to the organization’s information. As a part of the program, one of the break-out sessions will include ‘research pitches’ to a panel of judges from scientists regarding their latest work in metastatic breast cancer for a chance to win a $1,000 award provided by the Howell Foundation.  Dr. Carole ...

Carol Tuggey 2019 Howell Foundation Vice-Chair  The Doris A. Howell Foundation for Women’s Health Research warmly welcomes Carol Tuggey as its new Board Vice-Chair.  She brings many years of experience in the area of non-profit board management, and was instrumental in supporting the creation of the Doris A. Howell Foundation through Soroptimist International of La Jolla back in 1995. Kathleen Franklin, who will be stepping down as Co-Chair, will continue to serve on the Board of Directors in support of the initiatives of the Foundation.  “I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the opportunity I had serve as Co-Chair for the Foundation.  During my transition year, I will be working closely with the Executive Committee to ensure that we highlight the importance of women’s health research and promoting our guiding principle of “keeping the women we love healthy”, comments Kathleen “I am looking forward to working towards a successful succession plan for our ...

Donors and Board Members are not only proud, but inspired by the research topics of all our scholars.  Dr. Howell’s reasoning behind setting up the Howell Undergraduate Scholarship program was to get young scientists excited about a career in women’s health.  As a pediatric oncologist, she realized that women were taking care of everyone in their family but themselves. As best stated by Susan Baxter, Executive Director, California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB): “The Doris A. Howell Foundation for Women's health was one of the first nonprofits nationwide that supported undergraduate researchers. We've been very grateful for our partnership.  Together, the Howell Foundation and CSUPERB have given $855,000 in awards to 200 students since 2001; the great majority, 87% of them, graduate and go on to apply successfully for medical school, graduate school or work in the bio medical field.” We had the opportunity of meet...

The Doris A. Howell Foundation will be kicking off its lecture series on February 8th with the presentation "Women and Diabetes: Use of digital technologies in diabetes care" with key note speaker Athena Philis-Tsimikas, MD. Please visit www.howellfoundation.org to register for the event. With a significant number of diagnosed and under/undiagnosed diabetic and pre-diabetic Americans (close to 10% of the population), creating awareness of the symptoms, risk factors and management strategies becomes increasingly necessary. The result of the body’s inability to produce or respond to insulin creates abnormal metabolic function, resulting in too much sugar in the blood. The classifications of diabetes are: Type 1 diabetes: A chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Type 2 diabetes: A chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar (glucose). Pre-diabetes: A condition in which blood sugar is high, but not high...