Jeffrey Makowka

How do we advance health equity through research? Thomas Cotton, founder and CEO of Redemption & Advancement Alliance puts in plainly:   “Researchers come up with theories all the time; they understand that there are needs to be met. But the best way to meet any need is to talk to the person who has a need, and a lot of times, we miss that part of research.”    In a conversation with Systems for Action deputy director Carrington Lott, MPH, Thomas shared three key ways researchers can shift power to the community:   1️⃣ Parter authentically 2️⃣ Share data openly and information quickly 3️⃣ Build long-term relationships   Learn more here: https://rwjf.ws/sQzPmP

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🌟 Investing in Femtech: A Promising Opportunity 🌟 The landscape of women's health investing is evolving rapidly, and it's no longer a niche market. Here are some key insights from the latest Forbes article from Geri Stengel, sharing the story of FemHealth Ventures founder Maneesha Ghiya: 👍 Vast Opportunities: Women's health is one of the most promising sectors in healthcare, driven by unmet clinical needs and strong patient demand. 💲 Investment Surge: From 2019 to 2024, investment in women’s health-specific conditions surged 220%, reaching $2.6 billion. Investment in women’s health-adjacent conditions grew even more, rising 235% to $8.07 billion. *However, just 2% of health sector investment is focused specifically on women.* 💡 Investment Thesis: In 2019, Maneesha and her team "introduced a now widely adopted framework for venture capital in women’s health, grouping conditions into three categories: those that affect women only (e.g., reproductive), mostly (e.g., autoimmune), and differently (e.g., heart disease). “The big idea was the ‘differently’ category,” Ghiya explained. “Clinicians knew this, but investors weren’t thinking that way. We changed that.”" Keep up the great work FemHealth Ventures! Sara Rico Colleen Healy Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum Susan Sly Kirthika Parmeswaran Geetha Manjunath Vikas Arora Heena Purohit #Femtech #Investment #WomensHealth #HealthcareInnovation #VentureCapital #HealthcareOnLinkedIn

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Great conversations last week at the Society for Digital Mental Health's Annual Meeting for 2025. We had a phenomenal panel led by Trina Histon, PhD with Aubrey Shick, Christina Strogis, Michael Pace, and myself. We focused on the present and future for digital health products in mental and behavioral health from a payer and policy POV. Success is getting closer but, TLDR HINT, it isn't all about insurance coverage and reimbursement. That is half the battle. Key things we talked about.... - We started off with analyzing the utilization of the new Digital Mental Health Technology codes from CMS and the use of Remote Therapeutic Monitoring codes ( see below). HINT the use is really low for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and happy to chat about the DHMT codes - We then moved onto the impact of Medicaid cuts. If you aren't planning for this you should be, regardless of digital, medtech, Dx, or Biopharma. Medicaid has actually been the site of some innovative programs for mental health. - We talked about the role of mental health parity laws and policy - Then we wrapped with what needs to change to move digital health forward in mental health. Thank you Lisa Palko and the Society for Digital Mental Health!

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🌟 Big news in women’s health research #funding this week from Michal Elovitz, MD Elovitz and the team at Nuttall Women's Health Four new RFPs were announced, a landmark investment in women’s health research and a strong commitment to building the evidence base needed to improve care and outcomes for women everywhere. 🔹 XXcelerate – Designed to ensure that clinical research findings are valid and relevant for women. This RFP supports both the re-analysis of existing datasets to evaluate sex-specific outcomes and the strengthening of ongoing studies by expanding female recruitment or adding new data layers such as hormonal, physiological, or behavioral measures. The goal is to generate the evidence required for diagnostics and therapeutics that work for women as well as men. 🔹 Odessa – Focused on uncovering how the #ovary ages and how changes in ovarian biology influence health beyond reproduction. Projects may include developing early biomarkers of ovarian aging, identifying risk pathways for midlife diseases, and testing new interventions to preserve health after menopause. This effort reframes midlife as a critical window for disease prevention and healthy aging. 🔹 D³ (Drivers, Diagnostics & Drug Development) – Aimed at addressing major scientific and clinical gaps in #endometriosis. Proposals may investigate underlying disease mechanisms, develop accurate non-invasive diagnostics, or advance non-hormonal treatment strategies. The program seeks projects that can move beyond symptom management toward understanding and treating the biological drivers of this condition. 🔹 The Franklin Factor – Supporting the development of technologies that improve how we measure, monitor, and manage women’s health. This includes new wearable or biosensing devices, at-home testing methods, and data analytics tools that capture the biological complexity of female physiology across life stages. 💰 Each RFP offers substantial multi-year funding, typically $500K to $5M over 1–3 years, and notably, eligibility extends to both non-profit institutions and for-profit companies worldwide. 📅 Letters of Intent are due December 15, 2025 (rolling submissions for XXcelerate). At GSD Health Research, we are actively partnering with investigators advancing women’s health research, strengthening recruitment and engagement, enriching data collection, and integrating real-world, multimodal data layers that reflect female physiology, including hormonal, behavioral, and wearable sensor data. Spun out of the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center, we bring more than a decade of experience designing and implementing digital and decentralized studies. Our team combines deep women’s health expertise with a proven track record in research design and execution to help generate the data needed to finally close the evidence gap for women. #fundingopportunity #womenshealth #clinicalresearch More details here 👇 https://lnkd.in/dkb4Rqn2

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📣 RURAL HEALTH TRANSFORMATION FUND EXPLAINER The United States of Care team did *great* work putting together an explainer on CMS' Rural Health Transformation Project application, and some ideas for those working with states to craft their program. This is for anyone interested in how states can apply for transformation funds to improve rural health (or for anyone who doesn't want to read 100+ pages!) A few unique USofCare insights as you work with your state: ✔️ Understand CMS priorities: prevention and population health (or “Make Rural America Healthy Again”); bolstering the health care workforce; improving sustainable access to care; advancing care delivery to improve outcomes, coordinate care, and reduce costs; and leveraging innovative technology in care delivery ✔️ Articulate priorities that you hope the Governor, State DoH, State lawmakers will prioritize ✔️ States should meaningfully engage with a wide variety of stakeholders throughout the application and implementation processes ✔️ Consider existing initiatives that are already meeting the goals and for opportunities for expansion or enhancement. ✔️ Consider how RHTP funding can be leveraged to design and implement initiatives and policies that can be sustainable beyond the program’s expiration. ✔️ Consider how RHTP funding can be leveraged to implement value-based care, or “patient-first care” models that improve financial stability and predictability for hospitals and providers while helping to control costs – including hospital global budgets. ✔️ Assess the state policies prioritized in the NOFO, including the feasibility and impact in your state and community. ✔️ Understand that award funding levels can and may change from one budget period to the next.

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I see a lot of women's health pitches. So does Carolyn Witte. We came together to write about an issue we both see too often: women's health startups seeking venture capital that do not have the potential to drive venture-style returns. This is the first in our series for women's health founders on Second Opinion Media and The XX Factor, created to help founders decide if, when, and how to raise venture—and what to do if it's not the best path. https://lnkd.in/gir65n8r

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Innovation Refined | Vol. 8 The Role Everyone Relies On—But Rarely Names Every week, I find myself in conversation with people shaping our healthcare and life sciences innovation landscape—startups, health systems, investors, payors, government leaders, and industry partners. And every week, I see the same pattern: Smart, committed people talking past each other. 🔹Startups are focused on proving their product works—clinically and commercially. 🔹Health systems are under pressure to do more with less. 🔹Investors are looking for strong teams, clear traction, and a path to return. 🔹Payors want to reduce costs and improve outcomes—at scale. 🔹Government leaders are balancing bold policy goals with real-world complexity. Everyone is trying to move things forward. But they are not always hearing each other clearly. And that is where the role of the translator comes in. Not the loudest voice in the room. Not the one most comfortable in the spotlight. The person who can sit between worlds and say, “Here is what they mean. Here is what they need. Here is how we move forward together.” Translation is not just a communication tool. It is what makes collaboration possible. It is what turns friction into momentum. This kind of translation often happens quietly. But it is essential. It is how we move from misalignment to momentum. From good ideas to shared progress. Who is doing this kind of work in your world? The people connecting dots, bridging gaps, and helping others move forward? Let’s make sure they are part of the conversation. #InnovationRefined #HealthTech #StartupEcosystem #LeadershipInContext #RealConversations #CrossSectorCollaboration #NoInnovationTheater #TranslatorsMatter #HealthcareInnovation #ValueBasedCare

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Rolling on to Episode 7! We’re joined by Samuel Liberty Sam is a consultant in Applied Game Design and an expert in gamification design for health. Clients include: Click Therapeutics, Inc., UNICEF, the International Red Cross, and The World Bank. Sam teaches Game Design at Northeastern University in Boston, and is the former Lead Game Designer at Sidekick Health. In this episode, we explore: -Games are the secret ingredient in the behaviour change needed to influence positive health activities, positive lifestyle changes. -Games are cultural and contextually relative. And thinking of global health, co-design must be integrated into serious game design for regional and local populations' cultural, linguistic, contextual and digital accessibility needs. -A key importance is game design: understanding the population you're designing a game for, and the behaviour you’re aiming to create. Because pretty games and fun games, don’t necessarily result in behaviour changes or any positive changes in health.   Gamification Europe Pete Baikins #gamification #healthgamification #healthandwellness Available at: Spotify: https://lnkd.in/d2GCFAp Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/d9V8rQG Podbean: https://lnkd.in/dqduEGT Health Points Website: https://lnkd.in/d38wbmN

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