WiSe Panel

The IEEE Sensors Council Women in Sensors (WiSe) program at IEEE FLEPS 2026 will spotlight women’s health research through a life-course lens, aligned with the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health priorities emphasizing innovative measurements, data science and management (FAIR principles), and longitudinal/repeated-measure study designs.

Women’s health spans major transitions—fertility and hormone dynamics, pregnancy and postpartum health, gynecologic conditions (e.g., endometriosis, PCOS), and menopause-linked cardiometabolic and healthy-aging needs—yet measurement remains fragmented across studies and technologies. This panel will bring together experts from clinical research, women’s health, and sensing technologies to debate a practical, translational question for the flexible/printable/wearable sensors community: what should we measure first, and why?

Key discussion themes

• Biomarkers vs. symptoms: what is most meaningful—and measurable—for women’s health outcomes?
• Continuous monitoring vs. episodic testing: when do wearables outperform “gold standard” snapshots?
• What outcomes matter most: clinical endpoints, function/quality of life, and patient-centered measures
• Data standards and translation: longitudinal designs, reproducibility, interoperability, and reuse (FAIR)

Speakers

• Moderator: Juliane Sempionatto, Rice University
• Panelist 1: Jessica Combs Rohr, Director of Women’s Mental Health, Houston Methodist Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
• Panelist 2: Yvonne Bennett, Program Officer, Program in Imaging and Sensor Technologies, Division of Data Science and Technology, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Panelist 3: Shawana Tabassum, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Tyler