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Ohio State's College of Medicine receives $15 million gift to fund new program

The university plans to name the program, "Sarah Ross Soter Women's Health Research Program," after the donor, Sarah Ross Soter and the Soter Kay Foundation.
Credit: By Wendy Pramik
Sarah Kay, Sarah “Sally” Ross Soter and Wexner Medical Center CEO John J. Warner, MD, in front of Meiling Hall (College of Medicine).

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University College of Medicine recently received a gift of $15 million to fund and establish a new women's health program.

The university plans to name the program, "Sarah Ross Soter Women's Health Research Program," after the donor, Sarah Ross Soter and the Soter Kay Foundation.

Soter pledged the funds to help create a multidisciplinary translation research hub that discovers new therapies to prevent and treat diseases disproportionately affecting women, according to a release.

“Sally Soter and her family care deeply about Ohio State, having been generous donors and volunteers for many years. We are honored to receive this investment that will build upon Ohio State’s excellent women’s health research and care,” said John J. Warner, MD, chief executive officer of the Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State.

Some of the program elements will include:

  • Translational Research Awards – competitive funds for multidisciplinary, clinician-scientist teams
  • Program Directorship – an endowed position for a preeminent physician-scientist with demonstrated success in creating new approaches to women’s health
  • Catalyst Fund – resources to enable the director to seize unanticipated opportunities and ensure discoveries are rapidly brought to women and physicians
  • Early-Career Professorships – two endowed professorships for postdoctoral fellows and young clinicians; positions rotate every three years
  • Women’s Health Research Laboratory – a dedicated “neighborhood” of eight labs in Ohio State’s new Pelotonia Research Center
  • Women’s Health Equity Outreach – support to expand the College of Medicine’s health equity programs for women from underrepresented communities

A few of the conditions that afflict women more are cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression.

“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 treatments for women — creating new standards of care that save and improve women’s lives around the world,” said Carol R. Bradford, MD, dean of the College of Medicine and vice president for Health Sciences.

Soter's inspiration for wanting to improve women's health and wellbeing came from a trip to the Wexner Medical Center cardiology waiting area, according to the university.

She read a magazine article that was titled, "Women & Heart Disease: Is your biggest worry breast cancer? Think again."

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

Soter credits her Ohio State physicians with changing her atrial fibrillation treatment, and ultimately her life, for the better. 

This is not her family's first time donating to the university. They previously supported the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, which was named in honor of her late father.

Soter also established an endowed chair in women's cardiovascular health research.

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