Jill Biden Teases Women’s Health Research Announcement

The first lady recapped initial outcomes of the White House Women’s Health Research initiative Friday in first Cabinet meeting appearance.

First Lady Jill Biden speaks while attending her first cabinet meeting during her husband President Joe Biden's administration at the White House Friday in Washington, DC. Jill Biden spoke about progress made by the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden made her first appearance in a White House Cabinet meeting Friday where she recapped progress from the Women’s Health Research initiative that she and her husband, President Joe Biden, launched in November.

During her presentation, Dr. Biden, who leads the initiative, thanked Cabinet members “for the incredible progress we’ve made on women’s health research, all in less than a year.”

The initiative aims to make changes in women’s health research that include making sure women are enrolled in clinical trials and that researchers design studies, analyze data, and report finding[s] in ways that improve women’s health, Dr. Biden said.

In February, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), the agency created by the president to pursue breakthrough health research, at lightning speed, launched its first-ever Sprint for Women’s Health. The $100-million investment will fund innovations that will be life-changing for women, the first lady said.

The executive order signed March 18 directed the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken to expand and improve research on women’s health, according to the White House.

This year, National Institutes for Health committed another $200 million to fund interdisciplinary women’s health research, in areas such including how menopause affects heart health, brain health, and bone health, the first lady said. In May, the United States Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs launched a new joint effort to improve research for women in the military and for women veterans. In June, the Department of Health and Human Services announced new funding to address the unique mental health and substance use treatment needs of women. At the State of the Union Address, President Biden asked Congress for $12 billion to secure the bold and transformative health discoveries we need.

“On Monday, I’ll be at the Clinton Global Initiative to make a new announcement, and we will share more then,” Dr. Biden said, adding, “Your agencies are strengthening standards so that when the government funds research, it includes women from the beginning.”  

Before introducing his wife at the top of the meeting, President Biden recognized the four months left of his administration. 

“We’re going to keep running through the tape because the vice president and I are determined to keep making sure that the democracy delivers what the American people are asking for and what we provided,” he said. “That means continuing to implement the historic laws we’ve passed.”

The president went on to say across previous administrations, first ladies have attended these meetings for specific reasons.  

“It’s the first time Jill has joined us,” the president said. “And it goes to show how important the issue is … to both of us.”