Labfront and Garmin Health are proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Women’s Health Research Grant, a global initiative supporting innovative studies that use wearable technology to advance understanding of women’s health.

The selected projects tackle a wide range of critical topics, from infertility and menopause to stress, sleep, and postpartum well-being. These researchers are using wearables to challenge conventional approaches and generate new insights into women’s bodies.

Originally planned for five recipients, the program expanded to seven winners due to the exceptional quality of applications. Each researcher will receive five Garmin wearables¹ and access to Labfront’s platform to turn physiological data into actionable insight.

Beatrice Aretz, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Germany

Project: MENOSTIK

Despite affecting half the population, menopause remains widely underdiagnosed. Beatrice Aretz, a biomedical engineer and AI researcher, is developing digital biomarkers to improve menopause diagnostics.

Her study combines wearable data, vocal signals, and hormone lab results from women aged 40–55 over three months to build an AI-ready, clinically validated dataset for non-invasive, continuous detection of hormonal changes—bridging technology and women’s health to transform midlife care.

This grant will enable me to validate wearable-derived biomarkers and strengthen the scientific foundation for AI-driven hormonal diagnostics for women.

Dr. Yi-Jia Lin, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech), Taiwan

Project: Empowering Performance: Personalized Training and Menstrual Cycle Monitoring for Female Triathletes

‍Sports technology researcher Yi-Jia Lin studies how women’s physiological responses to exercise and stress vary across the menstrual cycle. This project uses Garmin wearables to explore how hormonal and autonomic patterns influence endurance performance.

Participants will receive nutrition education, optional lab tests for blood biochemistry and gut microbiota, and customized training plans. Researchers will track sleep, heart rate, respiration, caloric expenditure, and training load. A key goal is to validate wearable skin temperature as a noninvasive predictor of ovulation and examine how cycle phases affect fatigue and performance.

This project arises from years of collaboration with elite and amateur triathletes. We believe that menstrual-phase-informed training, backed by physiological data, can enhance performance, prevent injury, and support well-being. Garmin’s technology uniquely enables this vision.

Dr. Jennifer Williams, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada

Project: Harnessing Exercise to Alleviate Risk & Transform Perimenopausal Cardiovascular Health (HEART-P)

Associate Professor Jennifer Williams investigates how exercise can mitigate cardiometabolic risks in perimenopausal women, a population often overlooked in research.

In this 12-week pilot study, 28 women with cardiometabolic risk factors will be randomized to either a structured exercise program or an activity counseling group. Using Garmin smartwatches and Labfront’s platform, the study will continuously track sleep and physical activity to assess feasibility, enjoyment, and safety.

I’m deeply passionate about women’s cardiovascular health, an area long neglected in research. The women in my life inspire me to pursue this work and to train the next generation of scientists to focus on women’s health.

Dr. Courtney Louis, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA

Project: Pilot Study Examining Dynamic Associations between Vasomotor Symptoms, Mood, and Physiological Markers

Postdoctoral scholar Courtney Louis explores how wearable data can deepen understanding of emotional and physiological changes in midlife women. Her pilot study combines cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for vasomotor symptoms with real-time physiological monitoring to uncover how therapy influences both symptoms and body processes.

Her work aims to clarify the connections between mood, hormonal transitions, and physical health—and to develop scalable, data-driven treatments that help women thrive during menopause.

The Garmin Health Women’s Health Research Grant gives me access to Labfront and Garmin devices to explore new hypotheses and inform future clinical trials.

Dr. Helen O’Neill, University College London (UCL), UK

Project: Optimising Preconception Health: An Investigation of Lifestyle and Biometric Correlates

Associate Professor Helen O’Neill leads the Hertility Preconception Care Pilot, a 12-week program tracking women’s health as they prepare for conception.

Twenty participants will undergo hormone and nutrient testing alongside personalized health education. A subgroup will wear Garmin devices, enabling integration of biometric data—such as heart rate variability, sleep, and activity—with hormonal and nutritional profiles.

This grant allows us to combine wearable biometric data with our clinical diagnostics platform, creating a dynamic, continuous model of preconception care that empowers women with data-driven insights.

Isis de Valk, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam), Netherlands

Project: TIDE Study

Isis de Valk’s TIDE study examines how inflammation, mood, and exercise interact in postpartum women. Using Garmin wearables and mood tracking, the project aims to identify digital biomarkers for postpartum depression.

Participants will track mood, energy, and symptoms daily while physiological data—such as heart rate variability, sleep, and stress—are collected continuously. The study will assess whether wearable signals can predict menstrual phases or upcoming mood shifts, advancing early detection tools for women’s mental health.

Wearables provide a unique opportunity to detect mental health risk factors early and passively. This project integrates physiological and mood data to support next-generation tools for women’s mental health.

Dr. Robyn Trocchio, Texas Christian University, USA

Project: Leveraging Wearable Technology and Mindfulness to Explore Physical Activity, Mental Health, and Body Image in Female College Students

Associate Professor Robyn Trocchio studies how mindfulness interventions affect stress, emotion, and recovery in women.

In this study, 20 female college students will wear Garmin devices for four weeks while completing Labfront’s mood and stress questionnaires and practicing mindfulness via Netflix’s Headspace Guide to Meditation. Researchers will integrate wearable, self-report, and interview data to understand how mindfulness and wearables together shape mental health and body image.

Support from Garmin and Labfront enables the continuous, multidimensional monitoring needed for meaningful results.

Why Research in Women’s Health Matters

Women’s health remains significantly underrepresented in biomedical research. Through the Labfront × Garmin Health Women’s Health Research Grant, we aim to close that gap by supporting scientists driving innovation in digital health and data-driven care.

These seven researchers exemplify a new generation of scientific leaders—combining data, empathy, and technology to transform how we understand and support women’s health.

Learn More

Learn more about our other grant opportunities at  labfront.com/grant.

‍

^{¹Garmin smartwatches are not designed or intended to monitor or diagnose diseases or any medical conditions. Find information on metric accuracy here.}