Former CCTS pilot awardee discusses menopause, women’s health research with First Lady and Academy Award-winning actress

Maki looks on as a research participant demonstrates wearable menopause technology to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and actress Halle Berry

Former UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science pilot grant awardee, Pauline Maki, PhD, joined First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Academy Award-winning actress and women’s health advocate Halle Berry, and others for a roundtable discussion on the importance of research on women’s health, including menopause. Renowned for her contributions to the field of menopause and cognition, Maki demonstrated her team’s research using wearable devices to measure hot flashes and sleep to the First Lady and Berry on Thursday, Jan. 11.

This visit was part of The White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. Launched in November 2023, this first-of-its-kind effort aims to fundamentally change the approach to and funding of women’s health research.

Read more from ABC7 Chicago about the First Lady’s visit.