Roberta B. Ness, MD, MPH, is Dean and M. David Low Chair in Public Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. Dr. Ness is a recognized expert in women’s health research. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and American College of Epidemiology. Dr. Ness has been at the forefront of women’s health research, being one of the first to propose the research paradigm now termed “gender based biology” in her book entitled, Health and Disease among Women (Oxford U Press, 1999). In 200 peer-reviewed publications and over 20 federally funded grants, Dr. Ness has explored the epidemiology of ovarian cancer, preeclampsia, and pelvic inflammatory disease; adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes; links between reproductive history and cardiovascular disease; and bacterial sexually transmitted infections. Dr. Ness is a frequent advisor to the National Institutes for Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Department of Defense. She has taken part in several Institute of Medicine, National Academies’ reports.

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Primary) Dianna M. Milewicz, MD, PhD is the representative at this institution.