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Studying both sexes: a guiding principle for biomedicine
Author(s) -
Clayton Janine Austin
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fj.15-279554
Subject(s) - biomedicine , agency (philosophy) , transparency (behavior) , medical research , engineering ethics , basic research , health care , medicine , political science , computer science , sociology , engineering , pathology , social science , bioinformatics , biology , library science , law
In May 2014, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it will ensure that investigators account for sex as a biological variable (SABV) in NIH‐funded preclinical research as part of the agency's rigor and transparency initiative. Herein, I describe in more detail the rationale behind the SABV policy component and provide additional detail about policy goals. In short, studying both sexes is a guiding principle in biomedical research that will expand knowledge toward turning discovery into health. NIH expects that considering SABV in preclinical research will help to build a knowledge base that better informs the design of clinical research and trials in humans. Integrating the practice of studying both sexes in preclinical research will, over time, expand our currently incomplete knowledge base that plays a critical role in informing the development of sex‐and gender‐appropriate medical care for women and men.—Clayton, J. A. Studying both sexes: a guiding principle for biomedicine. FASEB J. 30, 519‐524 (2016). www.fasebj.org