Over the past few decades, the field has opened up for women athletes, as evidenced by Title IX, the WNBA, the WUSA, and the WFL.

But the sports-medicine field still operates as if boys were boys and girls were ... cheerleaders. Medical research conducted on athletes today focuses largely on men (as does medical research conducted on the population at large). This Saturday, Simmons College will sponsor a day-long conference to address oft-overlooked health issues for women athletes such as nutrition, homophobia, sports psychology, and preventing anterior-cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in the knee (which occur more easily in women than in men). Tara VanDerveer, head coach of the Stanford University women’s basketball team, will give the keynote address.

The conference runs on Saturday, May 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, third-floor conference room. Admission, which is $50 for students and $80 for adults, includes lunch. Call (617) 521-2653 or visit http://earth.simmons.edu/programs/gshs/women_sports.html.