Trump orders NIH women’s health division and task force

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on October 19 establishing a women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health and a White House task force, directing federal agencies to address gaps in research and care. The division is to be created within 90 days and will work alongside NIH’s existing Office of Research on Women’s Health, not replace it. The order sets priorities that include studying conditions that affect women disproportionately or exclusively, increasing women’s and girls’ participation in clinical trials, and improving research on sex-specific outcomes. It also calls for measures to hold grant recipients accountable for applying NIH policy on sex as a biological variable. Conditions named include heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic pain, endometriosis, infertility, maternal health and menopause. The task force is intended to coordinate work across federal agencies and consult with governments and outside organizations. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles are to lead it. Its first session was scheduled for October 19; the order provides for HHS to cover the panel’s...