The third annual Women’s Health Lab, presented by Women’s Health with support from Cosmopolitan, Delish, ELLE, Oprah Daily, and Prevention, featured a diverse group of doctors, researchers, thought leaders, patients and advocates, each bringing their perspectives and expertise on women’s health. The symposium, in partnership with Northwell Health and its Katz Institute for Women’s Health—an organization dedicated to improving health outcomes for women—focused on cardiovascular health, brain and mental health, menopause, respiratory health, and more.
Lisa Ryan Howard, chief revenue officer of Hearst Magazines, kicked off the day by thanking the institution for their partnership for the past three years to create this event where influential people find solutions to health issues facing women. Women’s Health executive editor Abigail Cuffey (pictured above at the center) then welcomed the audience by saying: “The most pressing conversations of our time are women’s health conversations.”
Here are the discussions from the day.
The Science Of Staying Strong: Longevity, Movement, And Resilience
ELLE digital director Claire Stern Milch opened the day of panels by asking Tara Narula, MD, chief medical correspondent at ABC News and associate director of the Lenox Hill Women’s Heart Program, and Tony-Award Winning Actress Sutton Brown: “What is strength?”
“Strength is resilience,” said Dr. Narula. The three women discussed how strength is resilience and how various practices around community and self compassion can help build it. Watch the below video to find ways that stress affects our bodies and the tools to be more adaptable.
Beyond the Scars: Navigating Life With Interstitial Lung Disease
Prevention executive editor Stephanie Dologoff moderated a panel sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim that explored the realities of living with and caring for someone with interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The conversation featured:
— Rany Condos, MD, a pulmonologist
— Laura Dern, an actress who cared for her mother, Diane Ladd, during her seven-year battle with IPF before her death in November 2025
— Vickie N., a patient living with interstitial lung disease
Watch the video below to hear their perspectives on navigating diagnosis, caregiving, and the importance of self-advocacy.
Real Talk: Mental Health, Identity And Showing Up Anyway
Cosmopolitan and Seventeen editor-in-chief Willa Bennett talked about how there is no one-size-fits-all approach to mental health with musician and actress Gracie Lawrence, who reiterated that there are a million ways to improve it. Watch Lawrence discuss how she handles her emotional health below.
Listen To Your Body: Exhaustion Can Signal Something More
It’s normal to feel tired sometimes, but there are instances when that fatigue might signal a reason that’s more than their list of responsibilities or their schedule. In an Ipsen-sponsored panel, actress and podcast host Jessica Capshaw spoke with Margarita Oks, MD, program director of the Lenox Hill Hospital/Northwell Health Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship, and Susan P., a retired nurse living with primary biliary cholangitis—a rare autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation and irreversible scarring of the liver—about the role fatigue can play as a health indicator.
Watch the video below to learn when fatigue may be something to discuss with your doctor.
Skin In Transition: The GLP-1 Effect On Skin—Science, Stories, And Solutions
Women’s Health beauty director Brian Underwood hosted a lively discussion sponsored by L’Oréal Paris about GLP-1 medications and the effect they can have on one’s skin with:
—Avani Sinha, MD, FACE, endocrinologist and program director at Northwell Health Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Fellowship
—Heather Gay, TV personality, entrepreneur, and author
—Michelle Henry, MD, FAAD, board-certified dermatologic surgeon; CEO and founder of Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan
Watch the video below to find out why GLP-1 medications affect your skin and what to do about it.
Protein Decoded
Delish digital director Katelyn Lunders led an Organic Valley-sponsored panel on protein featuring professional hockey player and New York Sirens forward Casey O’Brien and registered dietitian and author of “Live Nourished: Make Peace with Food, Banish Body Shame, and Reclaim Joy” Shana Minei Spence. They explored the truth about protein and its role in women’s health, breaking down common myths and misconceptions along the way.
Watch the video below for practical takeaways, myth-busting insights, and an empowering new perspective on this essential nutrient.
Mastering Me: Strength, Boundaries, And Coming Back To Yourself
The conversation between Gayle King, the editor-at-large at Oprah Daily, and Keke Palmer, founder of Practice by Palmer, covers everything from “joy being a form of rebellion,” to the renaming of PCOS to PMOS, to how integrity is being true to yourself.
Watch Keke Palmer talk about her health journey.
Special Remarks
Jennifer Oleksiw, Group Vice President and U.S. Neuroscience and Global Commercial Innovation Officer, Eli Lilly and Company, addressed the audience to acknowledge Lilly’s 150th anniversary and reflect on how the company has learned that improving health requires medicine to work in partnership with healthy behaviors. She also spoke about Lilly’s more than 35-year fight against Alzheimer’s disease and encouraged everyone over the age of 55 to speak with their doctor about brain health. Watch the video below for her remarks.
Would You Want to Know? Maria Shriver on Brain Health and Prevention
In this Lilly-sponsored panel, Cuffey spoke with journalist, author, and women’s health advocate Maria Shriver about Alzheimer’s disease and Shriver’s personal journey to better understand the condition, particularly its impact on women.
Watch Shriver share her vision for the future and explain why we should think about brain health the same way we think about heart health.
Sport And Motherhood: The New Playbook
Four-time WNBA Champion, two-time gold medalist, and Las Vegas Aces point guard Chelsea Gray joined Women’s Health director of special projects Amanda Lucci to talk about advocating for stronger protections for parents in the league, and how becoming a mother has shaped Gray’s perspective on leadership, ambition, identity, and success.
Watch as they talk about their hope for the next generation and how women show up as role models for all.
The Future Of Women’s Health: A New Era of Care
TV personality, fitness expert and author Jenna Wolfe talks to executive vice president, chief medical officer, and deputy physician-in-chief of Northwell Health Jill Kalman, MD, and global director, healthcare and life sciences at Google Shweta Maniar, discuss the wave of innovation—from AI-driven diagnostics to digital health platforms and personalized medicine—is changing that trajectory.
Watch their discussion below.
Goodbye And Thank You
Stacey E. Rosen, MD, FAHA, executive director, Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health and volunteer president, American Heart Association, closed the day by saying, “The vibe in this room is extraordinary.” She also emphasized the importance of advancing women’s health so that women are no longer treated with medications tested only on men. Watch her remarks below.
To conclude the day, Cuffey urged everyone, “Don’t let today stay in this room. Take one conversation with you. Take one fact that surprised you. Take one stigma you’re now ready to challenge. Take one woman you care about—and share something you learned today….That’s how this moves from a one-day event to real change.”
Outside The Panels
The Health Lab also included activations from our sponsors. Lilly hosted a Touch Up Station that drew inspiration from the emotion and nostalgia of Grandma’s signature bright red lipstick—the smudged kiss on your cheek, the familiar scent, and the memories that linger long after the moment has passed with the opportunity for Lab participants to apply lipstick and share intimate mirror moments. The space brought to life the spirit of Lilly’s 150th anniversary message: We make medicines so there are more years of moments like these.
Activations From Our Sponsors
Lilly’s Touch Up Station
Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals’ Listen To Your Body Community Board
L’Oréal Paris Revitalift Pop-Up
While Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals continued to urge participants to Listen To Your Body by crowdsourcing answers to prompts about their health and sticking them to a community wall which also featured a video of quotes from real women about exhaustion.
Other activations included mini-pop-ups from Altra where guests were able to pick up personal pairs of shoes from the brand that helps you more naturally, and L’Oréal Paris who provided Revitalift products. Organic Valley served up proffee espresso using their Protein Plus Ultra-filtered Milk. We would also like to thank WaterWipes for their support of this event through gifting of their Sensitive Feminine Wipes.
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