Gender Holds Secrets for Effective Treatments

Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha, co-founder and pro-bono CEO of the Women’s Brain Project, wins the prestigious Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award Switzerland 2022 for precision medicine.

Madeleine von Holzen, Martina Hingis, Chantal Gaemperle, Antonella Santuccione Chadha, Patrizia Laeri, Stefan Regez

The Women’s Brain Project (WBP) is thrilled with CEO Antonella Santuccione Chadha’s victory in the 2022 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award in Switzerland for her research on Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.

The WBP is an international non-profit organisation (based in Switzerland) studying sex and gender determinants of brain and mental health to achieve precision medicine. Founded in 2016, the WBP is composed of a group of experts hailing from various disciplines, including medicine, neuroscience, psychology, pharmacology, and communications, who work together with caregivers, patients and their relatives, policymakers and other stakeholders. The WBP aims to identify how sex and gender factors impact diseases, diagnostics, drug and novel technologies development in order to achieve precision medicine for sustainable and inclusive healthcare.

The announcement was made at an awards ceremony in Zürich in September. The honour will reward her for her tireless pursuit of putting her heart, knowledge, passion and soul into the topic of sex and gender differences and precision medicine.

The Veuve Clicquot Bold Women Award she received recognises exceptional women changing lives and transforming businesses across Switzerland and beyond. “It is very humbling for me to have received this award in recognition of my professional and entrepreneurial journey over time, until today,” she said. “An incredible journey made memorable by all the co-workers, friends, supporters, and friendly opposition I ran into along the route. I have the honour and privilege of leading some of the most talented and passionate teams at the Women’s Brain Project and Altoida, tonella Santuccione Chadha.

It’s a major coup for the Women’s Brain Project, which aims to develop precision medicine in order to provide accurate and long-lasting treatments for brain and mental diseases. Technology, innovation, the drive for a more precise diagnosis, improved care, and effective treatments for brain and mental diseases are all benefit, she says.

The next step in the journey is the creation of a Sex and Gender Precision Research Institute. This will provide tools and support for healthcare professionals and patients to provide service for female patients around the world. “We trust that investors and supporters will join us in this very important effort,” said Chadha.

Antonella Santuccione Chadha is a medical doctor with expertise in clinical pathology, neuroscience and psychiatric disorders. She has decades of experience in preclinical research, patient treatment, clinical development, medical affairs and international regulatory frameworks.

Chadha has delivered TedX talks and is the author of scientific publications and books. She has received accolades, including the World Sustainability Award in 2020, and Woman of the Year in Switzerland 2019. She had been named as one of the top 100 Women in Business in Switzerland, and was nominated for Swiss Women for Innovatin by the University of Basel, and received the Premio Medicina Italia award.

She leads the Women’s Brain Project with the support of a dedicated team. She is the chief medical officer of Altoida, a company focused on pioneering precision neurology diagnostics.

“I would like to thank the jury for the award and the illustrious house of Veuve Clicquot for recognising and honouring women entrepreneurs whose talent, boldness, and enterprising spirit have enabled them to successfully create impactful businesses around the world,” she said. “Congratulations to the other finalists Léa Miggiano and Sandra Tobler for their spectacular work.”

Jury Members

• Karina Berger, entrepreneur and former Miss Switzerland
• David Degen, entrepreneur and former footballer
• Chantal Gaemperle, Swiss & executive vice-resident of Human Resources and Synergies of LVMH Group
• Martina Hingis, former tennis champion
• Madeleine von Holzen, editor-in-chief of Le Temps
• Patrizia Laeri, former host of the SRF programme Börse, and entrepreneur
• Stefan Regez, former head of consumer magazines & member of the Executive Board of Ringer Axel Springer Schweiz AG since 2019.

“Antonella Santuccione Chadha impressed us with her entrepreneurial spirit and boldness, combined with her scientific expertise, all in a field where everything remains to be built,” said the former tennis champion Martina Hingis.

The Bold Woman Award is given to the woman who:

1. Demonstrates entrepreneurial daring
2. Reinvents tradition with success
3. Maintains an ethical approach to business

Founded in 2016, the Women’s Brain Project is a unique mix of research, advocacy, policy and communications. More importantly, it’s a community around the idea of sex and gender specific medicine for brain health. It’s a movement that aims to bring Swiss precision to medicine.

“We have been incredibly productive, generating papers, reports, videos, interviews, textbooks, lectures, webinars, books and much more,” said Maria Teresa Ferretti, co-founder and chief scientific officer of the Women’s Brain Project. “We shaped the global discussion on gender medicine and brain health, educated lay public and peers, opened up new avenues of research in the field of novel technologies. I am incredibly proud of Antonella and this prize, if ever there was a bold woman on Earth, this is Antonella, and of the Women’s Brain Project. I can’t wait for the next prizes to come!” i

About Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha

Dr Antonella Santuccione Chadha is a medical doctor with expertise in clinical pathology, neuroscience and psychiatric disorders. She has decades of experience in preclinical research, patient treatment, clinical development, medical affairs and international regulatory frameworks. She has delivered TedX talks and is the author of several scientific publications and books.