A new study underscores the importance for women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer to get genetic counseling and testing for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that make them more likely to develop lethal breast or ovarian cancer, says a Northwestern Medicine oncologist. The study, which will be published in the Sept. 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), shows women with the gene live longer and nearly eliminate their risk of cancer by having prophylactic surgeries to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes (salpingo-oophorectomy) or their breasts in a mastectomy. To read more.....
August 31, 2010
CHICAGO --- You can teach an old drug new chemotherapy tricks. Northwestern University researchers took a drug therapy proven for blood cancers but ineffective against solid tumors, packaged it with nanotechnology and got it to combat an aggressive type of breast cancer prevalent in young women, particularly young African-American women. To read more.....
August 23, 2010
August 2010
CHICAGO--Scientists as well as fertility doctors have long tried to figure out what makes a good egg that will produce a healthy embryo and, ultimately, a healthy baby. New research reveals healthy eggs need a tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity and be ready for fertilization. To read more,.....
July 27, 2010
Institute Director, Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, is interviewed in a recent article in Slate, discussing reasons for including the analysis of sex difference. Click here to see the article.
July 8, 2010
A strong correlation exists between sex and the incidence, prevalence, symptoms, age at onset and severity of disease, as well as the reaction to drugs. Now a team of US authors has set out to explain why sex-based medicine is the next step toward the delivery of true personalized medicine. In a full review published in the July issue of Women’s Health, the authors expand on their recent Opinion article that appeared in Nature (1). The article is freely available and is entitled
Sex and Sensitivity: the Continued Need for Sex-based Biomedical Research and Implementation (2).
June 9, 2010
CHICAGO --- Women remain vastly underrepresented in biomedical research despite significant differences in the way they experience many diseases, medications and therapies compared to men. Despite federal mandates to include women in studies, there is much that still needs to be done, says Teresa Woodruff, a leading women’s health scientist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a June 9 commentary in the journal Nature.
“It’s time for the sex bias in basic research and clinical medicine to end,” writes senior author Woodruff, executive director of the Institute for Women's Health Research and the Thomas J. Watkins Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Feinberg. This bias, she says, has an enormous effect on women’s health, resulting, for example, in delayed diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of women, and in adverse reactions to medication. Alison Kim and Candace Tingen, post-doctoral fellows at Feinberg, are coauthors on the paper.
June 1, 2010
Dr. Paula Stern, professor and vice-chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Northwestern University, was honored by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. They created a special award in her honor. The ASBMR Paula Stern Achievement Award annually recognizes a woman in the bone field who has made significant scientific achievements and who has promoted the professional development/advancement of women in the field. Dr. Stern is a leader in the field of bone and mineral research. Her contributions include the first bioassay for 1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D, studies on the effects of thyroid hormone on bone metabolism, and most recently studies on alternative signal transduction pathways for parathyroid hormone. The award includes a $2,000 honorarium and a plaque which is presented at a morning plenary session at the Annual Meeting.
April 16, 2010
Dr. Teresa K. Woodruff and Ms. Megan Faurot were presented with the first Girl Power Leadership Award by Young Women’s Leadership Charter School (YWLCS) on April 16, 2010. Click here for more information.
April 5, 2010
Teresa Woodruff, PhD, Thomas J. Watkins Professor, Obsetrics and Gynecology, chief of the Division of Fertility Preservation, and director and founder of the Institute for Women's Health Research has been named the winner of the Tripartite Legacy Prize, presented annually to the faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in research that emphasizes translational approaches, teaching and mentoring, and leadership.
Dr. Woodruff will be accepting the award and giving a talk at 1:00pm on Thursday, April 8, 2010 as part of Northwestern University's Sixth Annual Lewis Landsberg Research Day.
March 18, 2010
The Oncofertility Saturday Academy, one of the academies offered by the Women's Health Science Programs for High School Girls and Beyond, was highlighted in the Chicago Tribune. Megan Faurot, Director of Education Programs, and the students and partnership coordinator from Young Women's Leadership Charter School were interviewed at the program graduation last week on March 11, 2010. Twenty-nine high school girls successfully completed the program that focused on the basic science, clinical applications, and career options in the fields of reproductive sciences, cancer biology, and oncofertility. Click here to read the article.
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