WHAM to back early-career women's health researchers with new awards
Channels private investor support into bold ideas
Early-career researchers working on sex differences in health are set to get a boost with the launch of the 2025 WHAM Edge Awards.
The awards, run by WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters) through its Investigator’s Fund, offer $25,000 in unrestricted support for scientists at the start of their careers. The goal is to make sure promising projects don’t stall at the earliest stage - a common problem when traditional grants demand preliminary data junior investigators haven’t yet had the resources to collect.
This year, the scope covers four areas where women are disproportionately or differently affected — autoimmune disease, brain health, cancer, and heart health — alongside new priorities including healthspan, bone and muscle health, endometriosis, menopause, PCOS, and novel approaches such as AI and secondary data analysis.
“Changing the system”
Launched in 2022, the Edge Awards were designed to plug a gap in the funding landscape — and to back ideas with the potential to transform outcomes for women’s health. Funding comes from the WHAM Investigator’s Fund which was created to catalyze private support for cutting-edge research and ensure that women’s health - and the next generation of leaders shaping it - has the resources to thrive.
“Too many promising research ideas go unfunded simply because they are too early-stage for traditional grantmaking,” said Dr. Anula Jayasuriya, Chief Scientific Officer of WHAM and Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board.
“At WHAM, we believe that early investment in bold ideas - and in the brilliant minds behind them - is how we drive progress in women’s health. The WHAM Edge Awards are not just about research funding; they’re about changing the system and building a future where women’s health research is at the center.”
Nominations come through WHAM’s partner organizations and its Research Collaborative — a network of over 100 scientists, physicians, and institutional leaders committed to advancing women’s health.
Awardees will be chosen by WHAM’s Scientific Advisory Board, with recipients notified on October 29, ahead of the WHAM Forum and Edge Awards virtual presentation on November 18, 2025.
WHAM’s own analysis shows the return on investment: $350 million in women’s health research can deliver $14 billion to the U.S. economy.
“Women are greatly understudied and often disproportionately affected by diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s,” said Carolee Lee, Founder & CEO of WHAM.
“By accelerating research into sex and biological differences, we can not only improve outcomes but also reduce healthcare costs and boost the economy. The time to act is now. This is personal. It affects you—your life, your family, your community—and the future of our healthcare system and economy.”