Awardees & Updates – 2013

Recipients Drs. Laura Dichtel and Karen Miller, MDs, of Massachusetts General Hospital’s neuroendocrine unit will study the effects of low-dose testosterone on specific brain regions via MRI in women resistant to antidepressant therapy. This study will help determine if testosterone augmentation therapy positively affects mood, energy and libido in such women. Women are 70% more likely than men to experience depression in their lifetime.

Dr. Miller is an Associate Physician and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is Director of the Neuroendocrine Research Program in Women’s Health at Mass General Hospital and has extensive research experience including leadership positions at NIH and Mass General Hospital as a research reviewer. Karen’s academic honors include several women’s health research and scholar awards. She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Yale College with numerous honors.

Recipient Dr. Robert Flaumenaft, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will study a promising flavonoid treatment for reducing blood clots and concomitant cardiovascular disease in women. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in women and blood clots are the underlying cause of heart disease and stroke. Limitations of current therapies such as aspirin and blood thinners are evidenced by the high incidence of recurrent thrombosis. His previous research identified a dietary flavonoid naturally occurring in food as an effective clot inhibitor in an animal model. This study was published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigations and received medical and media attention for its potential for providing a safer, more effective preventative treatment. This study will explore this therapy for preventing blood clots and reducing risk of heart attack and stroke in women.

Dr. Flaumenhaft is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a hematologist with training in hematology/oncology and internal medicine. He is dedicated to biomedical research and has won highly competitive awards from the National Institutes of Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the American Society of Hematology, the American Heart Association, and others. Rob is also an ad-hoc reviewer for leading hematology medical journals. He received both MD and PhD degrees with honors from New York University School of Medicine.