The embrace of Big Data by particle physics and genomics ushered in major discoveries for those fields. Neuroscience is poised to do the same. The Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Initiative is an endowed research center headquartered at the University of California, Santa Barbara. We are building a University of California-wide brain imaging consortium to accelerate the pace of discovery for women’s health. The consortium includes UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCSF, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego Brain Imaging Centers, with a planned expansion to UC Davis and sister sites around the globe. By pooling data generated across sites, we are building the largest and most comprehensive dataset of brain imaging and women’s health phenotypes to date. The WBHI Data Coordination Core at Stanford oversees the automation of data storage, processing, and sharing on OpenNeuro. The WBHI AI Core, a joint endeavor between UCSB and Cornell, is developing and applying cutting edge AI for women's health to advance scientific discovery. Breakthroughs in women’s brain health will require sustained effort across sectors. The WBHI provides a path forward.
Positioning women’s health as equal to men’s health will require “a global shift in science culture.”
-Shansky & Murphy, Nature Neuroscience 2021
Women's health factors are severely understudied in neuroimaging research
Less than 0.5% percent of brain imaging articles published over the last 25 years consider health factors specific to women.