$15 million gift funds new women’s health research program at OSU School of Medicine

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A generous gift to The Ohio State University College of Medicine will establish a new research program in women’s health.

Sarah “Sally” Ross Soter and the Kay Soter Foundation pledged a $15 million grant to establish the Sarah Ross Soter Women’s Health Research Program.

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“Sally Soter and her family care deeply about Ohio State, having been generous donors and volunteers for many years,” said John J. Warner, MD, executive director of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president of Ohio State. in a statement. “We are honored to receive this investment which will build on Ohio State’s excellent women’s health care and research.”

We are grateful to Sally, Dean Carol Bradford, and Dr. Peter Mohler for their leadership in bringing this vision to life to not only improve but save the lives of women throughout Central Ohio and beyond.”

Components of the Sarah Ross Soter Women’s Health Research Program include:

• Translational Research Awards: Competitive funding for multidisciplinary teams of clinicians and scientists
• Program Director: An endowed position for a preeminent medical scientist with demonstrated success in creating new approaches to women’s health.
• Catalytic Fund: Resources to allow the director to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities and ensure that discoveries reach women and doctors quickly.
• Early Career Chairs: Two Grant Chairs for Postdoctoral Fellows and Young Physicians; positions rotate every three years
• Women’s Health Research Laboratory: A dedicated “neighborhood” of eight laboratories at the new Ohio State Pelotonia Research Center
• Women’s Health Equity Outreach: Support to Expand Medical School Health Equity Programs for Women from Underrepresented Communities

“Today’s inadequacies in women’s health are not destined to be tomorrow’s reality. With this gift, we will lead the way in defining the best prevention and treatment for women, creating new standards of care that save and improve the lives of women around the world,” Carol R. Bradford, MD, Dean of the College of medicine and vice president of health sciences, he said in a statement.

OSU officials say Soter’s passion for improving women’s health arose 20 years ago in a cardiology waiting room at Wexner Medical Center. She was reading a magazine article titled “Women and Heart Disease: Is She Your Biggest Worry?” breast cancer? Think again.”

“When I read that article, I knew something had to be done,” Soter said. “I am delighted to be able to do something like this. I don’t think people are treated equally, and that has to change. I like to figure out the crux of the problem and fix it.”

The $15 million gift is not the first time the Soter family has supported OSU, as they generously supported the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital named after Sally’s late father.

In addition, Soter established an endowed chair in women’s cardiovascular health research in 2005. It is currently held by her cardiologist, Lazmi Mehta, MD.

In 2019, Soter’s efforts earned her the American Heart Association’s Meritorious Achievement Award for her work advocating for women’s heart health.

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