AHA, Verily announce initiative to enroll more women in CV research
The American Heart Association and Verily, Alphabet’s life sciences and healthcare arm, have joined forces to promote a new initiative called Research Goes Red—an attempt to engage more women in cardiovascular research—the AHA announced Feb. 26.
According to a release, Research Goes Red leverages the AHA’s existing Go Red for Women campaign, which has been working toward similar goals for the past decade and a half. What Research Goes Red will reportedly do is make it easier for women to enroll in clinical studies and stay up-to-date with research and CV innovations that apply to them.
“Through clinical research we have an opportunity to uncover new insights about health, and by making it easy for individuals to participate, we can develop a comprehensive map that could inform treatment or care decisions,” Jessica Mega, chief medical and scientific officer at Verily, said in the release. “Collaborating with the AHA ... will help inform more women about the value of participating in research, how to contribute and a new way to ‘Go Red.’”
Women have been able to join the initiative since the beginning of February through Project Baseline, a Verily-run site. Any woman who’s over 18 years old and lives in the United States is eligible to sign up.
According to the AHA, women who are part of the project could have the opportunity to take part in surveys and focus groups, contribute data for clinical research projects and be among the first to test new tools, technologies and treatments. The site also promises participants they’ll be the first to know when studies matching their preferences open and gain exclusive access to updates and events in the field.
“Research Goes Red empowers our growing and passionate community of committed and engaged women to share their health information to greatly enhance what we know about women’s heart disease and potentially help prevent it,” Nancy Brown, CEO of the AHA, said. “Our collaboration with Verily through Project Baseline will accelerate world-class clinical research powered by the momentum of the Go Red for Women Movement.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.