Women’s Health Collaboration Program
The application period will run from Sept. 23 - Dec. 6, 2024 at 1 p.m. EST.
Program Overview
The Women’s Health Collaboration Program is part of the MLSC’s Women’s Health Initiative. This program supports collaborative projects that aim to improve the discovery, technical innovation, and/or analysis of datasets to answer pressing life science questions around women’s health. It incentivizes translational projects that develop novel solutions to treat conditions that solely or disproportionately affect women or have a different presentation between genders.
- Up to $5 million capital dollars are available for the current program round
- Each award anticipated to be approximately $750,000 to fund data and equipment at not-for-profit partners
Application Process
Application Period Begins
Application
Due
External Review Period Begin
Review Period
Ends
Award
Notification
Project
Begins
Upcoming Info Sessions
Eligibility and Requirements
- Qualifications of the Team
- Use of funds and value to the Massachusetts ecosystem
- Proposed plan, including the following: unmet need/market opportunity, data generation and sharing (if applicable), scientist training, and approach to solving a key question in women’s health
Please note that the submission system only allows one active application per grant program at a time for each user account. It is possible to have an active application across multiple programs, as well as submit applications for the same program sequentially.
Program Resources
Impact on the Ecosytem
Massachusetts recognizes there has been a lack of development in novel solutions to treat conditions that solely or disproportionately affect women or have a different presentation between genders. This impacts not only patients, but also employers and the healthcare system. The consequences are profound, with women more likely to have adverse drug reactions than men, and the lack of effective therapies results in reduced quality of life. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center aims to support and incentivize translational project teams developing novel solutions in this area of need.
Learn more about the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 Women’s Health awardees, including the principal investigator, industry partners, and the innovative projects.
in MLSC investments
in leveraged academic & industry funding
MA non-profit organizations & industry partners
follow-on funding received
“Innovation is Massachusetts’ calling card now and into the future. The Mass Leads Act doubles down on our leadership opportunities in areas like women’s health to advance not only our life sciences sector, but also our health care system and broader economy.”
– Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll
“This funding will allow for the establishment of a state-of-the art center to study lactation science. The Lactation Lab will encompass both a basic science laboratory, with protocols optimized for breastmilk assays, and a clinical research space designed for the needs of breastfeeding women and their infants.”
– Sarbattama Sen, MD, Attending Neonatologist, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
“Massachusetts has already established the infrastructure, supported by the MLSC, to leverage new investments in women’s health to maximize the impact. The MLSC serves as an example of the impact that investment in women’s health can provide.”
– Jamie Maguire, Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine