Jill Biden Advocates for Women’s Health Research in Chicago Visit
Plus, the first lady shares holiday greetings with U.S.S. Delaware families
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited Chicago Thursday afternoon as a part of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research launched in November 2023.
The first lady was joined by Illinois Congresswomen Lauren Underwood and Robin Kelly, actress Halle Berry and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for a roundtable discussion and tour at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) that highlighted the importance of advancing research on women’s health, especially menopause.
“If you ask any woman about her health care in America, she likely has a story to tell,” Biden said. “Women in this country live longer than men. But what are those years like? Can you pick up your grandchildren without pain? Can you walk around the block without feeling tired? These women live with chronic diseases that we don’t know enough about and that don’t have effective treatment options.”
“If you ask any woman about her health care in America, she likely has a story to tell,” Biden said. “Women in this country live longer than men. But what are those years like? Can you pick up your grandchildren without pain? Can you walk around the block without feeling tired? These women live with chronic diseases that we don’t know enough about and that don’t have effective treatment options.”
Berry, also a women’s health advocate, said money needs to be raised and allocated so that doctors can be retooled and so there are more experts.
"Every woman [should have] an opportunity to get quality, premium care and not just be told you have to just white knuckle it, it will eventually pass,” Berry said.
UIC’s Dr. Pauline Maki is a leading researcher in the field of menopause and cognition. She joined the discussion to highlight her and her team’s research.
“There’s such excitement in the field about what you’re doing,” Maki said to Biden. “We see such promise. This initiative will transform women’s health research and that means we will transform people’s lives.”
Student researchers also shared details about their work. One student’s research focuses on how sleep is disrupted by menopause, particularly due to hot flashes. Another shared their work on how menopause impacts memory.
During the tour, UIC researchers shared their ongoing work that explores menopause and cognition. Researchers demonstrated to Biden and Berry how they collect and analyze data on menopause by using wearable devices that measure hot flashes and sleep.
Alexandra Paget-Blanc, a neuroscience doctoral student at UIC, shared her clinical research that has looked into the disparities Black and Hispanic women experience during menopause compared to other groups of women. She demonstrated how a hot flash monitor, DREEM headband and actigraph watch take certain measurements for their research. Those measurements inform how women’s sleep is disrupted by menopausal symptoms like hot flashes.
“It doesn't take a Ph.D. in neuroscience to know that if you haven't slept well, your memory is not going to be very good,” Maki said. “So in women, we have a unique pattern of sleep disruption that contributes to their memory problems. They're waking up at night because they're having hot flashes.”
During the second stop of the tour, the Biden and Berry learned from UIC researchers about the results of their studies on menopause and the importance of those findings. Their research explores how menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and the hormone estrogen impact cognition.
Maki said studying how menopause impacts a woman’s brain is foundational for not only understanding menopause better, but also to properly treat symptoms.
Launched by the president and the first lady in November 2023, the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research aims to fundamentally change how the country approaches and funds women’s health research. The effort will galvanize the federal government as well as the private and philanthropic sectors to spur innovation, unleash transformative investment to close research gaps, and improve women’s health.
This first-of-its-kind effort is led by Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council. The Initiative is chaired by Mazure, an esteemed leader in the field of women’s health research.
U.S.S. Delaware visit
Later Thursday evening, Biden made a stop at the Submarine Force Museum in Groton, Connecticut, where she delivered holiday greetings to the crew of the U.S.S. Delaware and their families.
She recalled feeling her “first connection” when she was presented with renderings of the Virginia-class attack submarine more than a decade ago, while she served as second lady.
“I feel it today not only as Delaware’s sponsor, but also I am the daughter of a WW2 Navy veteran and a National Guard mom who has seen her son deployed to Iraq for a year … So I’ve seen the heart of this team and I’m proud and humbled to be your shipmate for life,” Biden said.
Afterwards, Dr. Biden posed for photos with many couples and families from the U.S.S. Delaware, and handed members of the crew her challenge coins.
Outside, there was a crowd of around a dozen pro-Palestinian protestors gathered at the entrance to the Submarine Museum and Naval Station New London.
The first lady has been an active sponsor of the U.S.S. Delaware since she was named the ship’s sponsor in 2016. Her previous engagements include:
In April 2022, the first lady attended the ship’s commissioning ceremony and provided remarks.
In December 2021, she joined the U.S.S. Delaware’s crew and families for a holiday party hosted by United Through Reading.
In October 2018, the Biden christened the U.S.S. Delaware with the traditional breaking of a bottle of champagne across the bow of the ship.
In April 2016, the Biden attended the keel laying ceremony, in which she signed her initials on the keel that was later welded onto the ship.
MSNBC Morning Joe
Jill Biden: Americans Have a Choice of Strong, Steady Leadership or Chaos and Division
Mika Brzezinski sits down with First Lady Jill Biden for a discussion on the 2024 election, and Biden says that democracy and our freedoms are what's on the line this year. View here
San Francisco Chronicle
President Joe Biden's Record Age, 81, Is an 'Asset,' First Lady Jill Biden Says
Jan. 11, 2024 — First Lady Jill Biden says her husband's age is an “asset," as President Joe Biden — at 81 already the oldest American leader in history — faces persistent questions from voters about his decision to seek another term.
In an interview with MSNBC's “Morning Joe" released Thursday, Jill Biden responded to those concerned the Democratic president is too old, saying, “I say his age is an asset.” Read more
The Tennessee Tribune
Michelle Obama to Ring in Her 60th Birthday
Jan. 11, 2024 — Michelle Lauvghn Robinson Obama was born on Jan. 17, 1964. Her childhood centered around a close relationship to her family while she was being raised in the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Growing up in a cramped second floor apartment owned by her aunt, Obama was brought up on a foundation that valued strong work ethic, resilience in hardship, and dreaming big despite limitations. Read more
East Wing Magazine
Michelle Obama: ‘I Am Terrified About What Could Possibly Happen’
Jan. 10, 2024 — It’s been seven years since Michelle Obama served in the White House and with another contentious presidential campaign season in swing, the former first lady says it is the pending outcome of the 2024 presidential election that she fears.
“I am terrified about what could possibly happen because our leaders matter,” Obama tells Jay Shetty, the host of the popular podcast “On Purpose with Jay Shetty,” in an episode that dropped on Monday. Read more
The New York Times
The Silent Glamour of Melania Trump’s Mother, Amalija Knavs
Jan. 11, 2024 — In public, Amalija Knavs did not adhere to the stereotypes of an American grandmother. This publication is behind a paywall.
USA TODAY
Former First Lady Melania Trump's Mother, Amalija Knavs, Dies
Jan. 10, 2024 — Former First Lady Melania Trump's mother, Amalija Knavs, has died, Melania confirmed in a post Tuesday night on X, formerly Twitter. Knavs was 78. The cause of death was not shared.
"Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity,"Melania Trump wrote. "She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law. We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy." Read more
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Together in San Diego, Bill and Hillary Clinton Talk Gaza, Trump and Everything Else
Jan. 9, 2024 — Bill and Hillary Clinton didn’t directly mention San Diego after walking onto a downtown stage Tuesday morning. But the former president and one-time secretary of state did say one of the region’s biggest debates wasn’t truly intractable.
“We could solve our border problems tomorrow,” Hillary Clinton argued, referring to the large numbers of people regularly seeking to cross over from Mexico. Read more
C-SPAN
President Biden and First Lady Visit Valley Forge
Jan. 5, 2024 — President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, ahead of his speech marking the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. View here
Columbia Magazine
Inside the Situation Room with Professor Hillary Clinton
Winter 2023-24— On a Wednesday afternoon this past September,more than 350 students, having passed their required Secret Service background checks and charged their smartphones for picture-taking, filed into Altschul Auditorium in the International Affairs Building with something more than the usual excitement that accompanies the first day of class. Chosen from eight hundred applicants from the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia College, Barnard College, and the School of General Studies, these future diplomats, policymakers, intelligence analysts, foreign-service officers, and civic leaders had come to attend the most talked-about course of the year. Read more