Translating female sports medicine and sports performance insights into improvements for the health and performance of females across the lifespan

The Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program at Boston Children’s Hospital prioritizes outreach and education. We leverage the knowledge gained from our studies and apply it practically to enhance clinical care, future research, athletic environments, education, and advocacy efforts for female athletes. Our ultimate goal is to equip athletes, clinicians, coaches, and researchers with the most up-to-date information to help them attain peak health and performance.

Community Engagement

To engage with the community, we offer lectures to local schools, teams, and groups of coaches. Recently, our providers have given lectures to athletes at organizations like Massachusetts Youth Soccer, Boston Ballet, Cambridge Boat Club, UMass Lowell, Energy Fitness and Gymnastics, and Tufts University.

Through these lectures, we educate athletes and coaches on topics such as sports nutrition, relative energy deficiency in sport (RED-S), and injury prevention. These lectures empower athletes to make choices to improve their health and performance. Our program director, Dr. Kate Ackerman, recently gave a TED talk titled “What girls and women in sports need to unlock their potential,” advocating for the needs of female athletes. Furthermore, we aim to foster community engagement through our social media platforms and monthly newsletter. Through these channels, we strive to disseminate the latest research findings and educate athletes

Clinical Education

The Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program is dedicated to elevating the standard of care for women and girls in sports. Our primary goal is to ensure that practitioners in sports science and sports medicine possess the knowledge and awareness required to enhance the health and performance of female athletes both on and off of the field. In line with this mission, the Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program offers a fellowship, which equips physicians who have completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine or endocrinology with the education and clinical experience needed to effectively treat female athletes.

During the fellowship, clinicians receive comprehensive training in diagnosing, treating, and managing the health of female athletes. They become proficient in evaluating conditions such as the female athlete triad/REDs, eating disorders in athletes, bone health, sports-related endocrine issues, and other sports medicine injuries specific to female athletes. Additionally, fellows receive training in areas like male athlete endocrine concerns, issues pertaining to transgender and gender diverse athletes, nutrition evaluations, mental health evaluation and management, and general endocrine and gynecologic care of female athletes. This program also supports clinical research opportunities, with fellows completing at least one research project during their fellowship year.

This year, our team has delivered presentations at prominent conferences and meetings such as the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) annual meeting, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) annual meeting, National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) National Conference, the Female Athlete Conference, World Rowing Virtual Coaches Conference, Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) annual symposium, and Wu Tsai Symposium, among others. We have also been featured as Grand Rounds speakers, and have given lectures at various hospitals and departments. Through these conferences and clinical lectures, our aim is to disseminate research and clinical updates to fellow researchers and clinical providers, thereby enhancing the treatment and research of female athletes on a global scale.

The Female Athlete Conference

Every two years, the Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program proudly hosts the international Female Athlete Conference, which serves as the leading summit for sharing the latest evidence-based research and clinical insights pertaining to female athletes. The conference aims to promote a deeper understanding of the unique physiology and lived experience of female athletes, while also highlighting clinical best practices and calling for interdisciplinary collaboration. By fostering connections between clinicians and athlete support personnel, the conference contributes to the advancement of research in the rapidly growing field of female athlete medicine. With a focus on clinical and research advancements, the conference addresses the specific issues that make female athletes unique.

The 2023 Female Athlete Conference attracted more than 1,400 attendees from 38 countries, who participated both in person and virtually.

Learn about the Female Athlete Conference

Topics included:

  • RED-S updates
  • iron deficiency in female athletes
  • mental health in sport
  • safe guarding in sport
  • postpartum return to sport
  • nutrition considerations for the menopausal athlete

Stanford Female Athlete Western Gateway and the Stanford FASTR Program

While our Innovation Hub is primarily based at Boston Children’s Hospital, we have established valuable partnerships both nationally and internationally One such collaboration is with the Stanford Female Athlete Western Gateway and the Stanford Female Athlete Science and Translational Research (FASTR) Program, where we work together on research, lecture series, and clinical care initiatives.

The FASTR Program is a dedicated initiative focused on translating valuable insights from female athletes into tangible impact. To delve deeper into the FASTR Program and its endeavors, we encourage you to visit the FASTR Program website and its Instagram feed.

Partners

Our team members actively partner with renowned organizations and teams, including USRowing, U.S. Figure Skating, World Rowing, Boston Ballet, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), to ensure that our work directly influences clinical care, research, and advocacy within athlete populations.

Connect with the Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program

To stay informed about the latest developments in the Wu Tsai Female Athlete Program and the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, we invite you to visit our social media channels. Through these platforms, we not only share updates on our team’s activities, but also disseminate media appearances, research articles, and educational and advocacy materials on various topics such as RED-S, mental health, research briefs, and more.