Three medical researchers from Sydney have been published in a renowned peer-reviewed science journal for their work researching the impact of sex and gender in scientific research. Sue Haupt, Robyn Norton and Cheryl Carcel – researchers from the at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) – collaborated on a comment piece after the international journal invited the Sydney women to develop an article for the journal earlier this month. Backed up by dozens of international studies and data, the article argued the neglect of sex and gender as variables in medical and scientific research poses a “public risk”, particularly as technological advances such as artificial intelligence (AI) show no signs of slowing down in the industry.
“The consideration of sex and, where appropriate, gender in biological research must become routine – especially as molecular genetics, biomedical engineering and AI open up possibilities for treatments that are better tailored to the needs of individuals,” the article reads. There are three things that Haupt, Norton and Carcel said stakeholders in medicine, including pharmaceutical companies and intergovernmental organisations, should take into consideration: first, how sex and gender can significantly impact health outcomes for men and women*; second, how sex and gender are “disregarded in basic research and clinical trials”; and third, that change in the field can only occur through “increasing awareness among all stakeholders”.
