Natalie Hanson, Ph.D.

On average, US patients get 18 minutes with their doctor - so it's no surprise that patients turn to social media to get their health questions answered. Unfortunately, recent research shows that social media content is often incorrect or has serious conflicts of interest. Learn more on my Substack.

Many women’s health companies start with a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model. Unfortunately, the platforms they rely on to reach consumers make that critical market access much harder than it needs to be; 95% of women’s health creators surveyed in 2024-25 reported censorship on social media.

Diagnostics is one of the most successful investment areas in women’s health right now. It makes sense - we need a meaningful body of data about how female bodies work, and better diagnostics is key step in that journey. nataliehanson.substack.com/p/better-dia...

It has been 181 years since the speculum was invented, and it’s outrageous that basic preventive care still causes so much pain & distress that women avoid it altogether. But there are exciting innovations on the way in this space! Learn more - nataliehanson.substack.com/p/standard-c...

Today, only about 25% of clinical trials sex-disaggregate research data; researchers never fully analyze whether the treatment behaves differently in male and female bodies, even when both are included as participants. Learn more in my Substack post -
nataliehanson.substack.com/p/only-25-of...

Women then experience significantly more adverse drug events than men; this is what happens when an entire sex is treated as an afterthought in the research and development process for bringing new drugs to market. Learn more in my Substack post, here - nataliehanson.substack.com/p/the-future....

The Chicago Women's Health Collective recently hosted our first dinner, bringing together folks who care deeply about the future of women’s health. I left feeling energized more committed than ever to shaping an ecosystem where women’s health is treated as essential infrastructure, not a niche.

VC investment in women’s health has grown more than 50% in recent years - 3x growth since 2020! - crossing into the multi‑billion‑dollar range. But it remains a small slice of overall healthcare investment funding.

Women are a good investment. Companies with more women in leadership and funds that back women founders, can outperform on revenue growth and ROI. If you care about returns and impact, investing in women shouldn’t be a side bet - it should be core strategy.

When adoption fails, it’s rarely about the technology or launch plans - it’s almost always about people. Real ROI comes from understanding unmet needs, creating usable experiences, and establishing the right supports for behavior change.

We’ve built an ecosystem where 5% (or less) of the disease burden associated with women’s health attracts a disproportionate share of attention. If we want better outcomes for women over their lifetimes, we have to create and fund solutions that reflect the full spectrum of women’s health needs.

When you look at conditions that uniquely, differently, or disproportionately affect women, you start to see a very different picture of unmet need and market potential for women's health. Unlocking even a fraction of the market represents a $100B+ opportunity for founders and investors.

The lack of basic science on women’s bodies is a risk as the interest in LLMs for healthcare continues to grow. If not addressed, the lack of data on female bodies will affect our ability to use AI for innovation and improved health outcomes in the long run.

A depiction of the women's health ecosystem, from public policy, to funding / valuation, to scientific research, to sales & marketing, to disease areas, to care delivery, to payers, and finally social & economic outcomes.

I’m working on a series of posts about women’s health and I’d love your input. I want to celebrate what the industry is doing as it matures, while raising awareness with women about what’s at stake. What am I missing? What have you read that surprised you – and what do you still want to know?

Whoa - isn’t nature amazing?!

Pearl Cleage quote from Jane Fonda.

Some hopeful words via @huffpost.com as the week comes to a close - “… on the other side of the conflagration, there will still be love.”

This is How We Fall Out of Love with the World The Twilight of the American Passion Job

"When a civilization is limited to work that produces profit, we don’t just lose the artistry and texture of everyday life. We distance ourselves from the values of care and generosity — and the simple but profound belief that what happens to one of us affects all of us."

@conriley.bsky.social inspiration for your books. 🥰

Absolutely smitten with this picture. 😍

Beautifully executed, my French mom would be proud! 🤩 What are you using in the base - is it a custard or something almond based?

Holocaust Remembrance Day. It’s a good day to remember that fascists attack all kinds of differences. Resist normalizing or acquiescing their abhorrent behavior wherever you can. ✡️🖤🏳️‍🌈

TikTok took it down, so let’s share the shit out of this reading list. #HolocaustRemembranceDay #NeverAgainIsNow #BookSky
#StateMediaCensorship

Check out this incredible interactive visualization of earthquakes generated by Raluca Nicola from USGS data - glowy-earthquakes.glitch.me. I've attached a screenshot to encourage you to click through.

How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.

I saw this article referenced on LinkedIn on Monday, and it was impactful enough that it's running like a doom loop in my head.

Here is a gift link if you want to read it, too - www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

YouTube video by Coldplay Coldplay - ALL MY LOVE (Official Video) (Directors' Cut)

I stumbled across this video of Coldplay's new song All My Love, which also a lovely tribute to Dick van Dyke (who is now nearly 99 years old). It might be the best 7 minutes I've spent this week - www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Ol.... Enjoy!

Sweet picture! 🤩

I've been meaning to try that as well. Craig Dabler has a nice setup that's not too expensive, and lots of free training videos too - www.diycastings.com.

I finished a "mini-MBA" in Women's Health. I learned about US healthcare & the implications are for women's health.

It has helped me build my network, and I feel confident evaluating biz models & potential jobs. I've also secured my first few femtech consulting clients!

Learn more - bit.ly/3OjYlUw

Thank you! ☺️ I want to do this for the industry I’m in when I’m not snarfing books.

If you are able to locate again I’d love to read it!