@whrcluster.bsky.social
We are a multidisciplinary network of researchers & stakeholders that catalyzes, expands and promotes impactful research to advance women's health.
🎙️ Meet the new host of Women’s Health Interrupted: Dr. Liisa Galea
A neuroscientist + women’s mental health expert, she’s leading Season 3 with bold convos on women’s health research.
Launches Oct 15 on Spotify + Apple Podcasts!
#WomensHealth #SexAndGenderResearch #WHInterrupted
Grad students researching women’s health—this is for you!
Apply for the Holly Ewanyshyn Women’s Health Equity Graduate Research Award by Oct 31, 2025.
Funding: $2,000 for research on disease pathogenesis in women or female models of disease. https://ow.ly/S5iZ50X8L6V
#WomensHealth #ResearchFunding
How do hormones shape mood across the menstrual cycle? 🧠
Join Dr. Tory Eisenlohr-Moul for our next Women’s Health Seminar on Oct 20, 9am PDT/12pm EDT!
💻 Register now: https://ow.ly/YvoK50X9fjh
#WomensHealthResearch #HormonesAndMood #WHSS
Congratulations to Dr. Simone Vigod, Senior Scientist Women's College Hospital & the new Labatt Family Chair of Psychiatry University of Toronto 👏
Her research advances equity in women’s mental health and transforms access to evidence-based treatment.
Learn more: https://ow.ly/SbOn50X7K8E
❌ Myth: Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is dangerous and increases the risk for various diseases.
✅ Truth: The risks and benefits depend on the type of MHT and when & how it is taken.
Learn more: womenshealthresearchcluster.com/learn/womens...
#MythBusting #WomensHealth #Menopause #HormoneTherapy
Today, we honour the children who never returned home, Survivors of residential schools, and their families and communities.
The legacy of residential schools continues to shape health inequities - see our post to learn more!
#NDTR #TruthAndReconciliation #WomensHealthEquity
Anxiety levels were similar across OC users and naturally cycling women, but anti-androgenic OC users showed lower inhibitory control 💊
These findings show that different OC components can influence mental health, and more research can help providers offer personalized contraceptive choices.
New Publication Alert! 📣 How do #oralcontraceptives (OCs) impact #wellbeing? 🧠
Research led by Cluster member Melanie Kowalczyk from Uniwersytet SWPS examined #anxiety and inhibitory control in #oralcontraceptive users vs naturally cycling women.
📚 Read the full paper: doi.org/10.1080/2044...
Housing Unit Takeovers (HUTs) exploit the vulnerabilities of women in supportive housing, often leading to unsafe & traumatic living conditions.
Read Nora’s story & what must change: ow.ly/TXGB50WZmQK
#WomensHealth #HousingJustice #GBV
22.09.2025 17:07 — 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Better science starts with equality ⚖️ This #GenderEqualityWeek, we are celebrating the achievements of women and gender-diverse people and continuing to push to close the gaps that remain 💪
We are on a mission to ensure science serves everyone 📢 Share this post & tag us to spread the word!
Yesterday was #WorldAlzheimersDay! ⏳ Every 3 seconds, someone develops dementia - and 2 in 3 are women ⏳
Join us in our raising awareness and supporting research that prioritizes women to create a future of better brain health for everyone. 💜
#EndAlz #WomensHealth #AskAboutAlzheimers
Did you miss the September 15 seminar on Sex, Anxiolytics and Psychosocial Stress with Dr. Holly Hunsberger? You can catch it on our YouTube channel! Learn more about the Alzheimer's disease exposome: youtu.be/o7KzfKxmZZs
#WomensHealth #WomensHealthResearch #WHSS
Make sure you don't miss any of our #WHSS talks this year! They happen monthly and are virtual and FREE to attend 🙌
Check out our website for more information on the fantastic talks planned for 2025-2026 and to register: womenshealthresearchcluster.com/learn/womens...
Some exciting future directions for Dr. Hunsberger's lab include exploring psilocybin as a novel therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease and the impacts of social isolation in aging on Alzheimer's pathology.
15.09.2025 16:50 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Importantly, these differences were seen despite males and females showing similar impairments in fear memory retrieval after treatment. It is possible that there are sex differences in drug metabolism and/or differences in brain regions other than the hippocampus.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40604112/
Alprazolam (Xanax, a BZD) increased neuronal ensemble and engram activation in the dorsal hippocampus and decreased retrieval cell activation in the ventral hippocampus - but only in female mice. This indicates a disrupted excitation/inhibition balance, which is essential for memory formation.
15.09.2025 16:36 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Benzodiazepines (BZDs) are prescribed for anxiety. They are prescribed heavily in older populations and 2x more in women.
Abuse and prolonged use of BZDs have been linked to memory deficits, but it's unclear whether BZDs increase dementia risk - Dr. Hunsberger's group is studying this! 🧠
They also found sex-specific brain-wide network changes in both control mice and in the AD mouse model. APP/PS1 male mice exhibited hyperexcitation in the brain compared to control mice at 6 months old - perhaps a similar pattern would emerge earlier in females.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39349155/
Dr. Hunsberger is interested in understanding how biological sex and neuropsychiatric symptoms drive AD progression 🔍
In a recent paper, her group uses an AD mouse model (APP/PS1) and shows earlier anxiety-like behaviour and cognitive decline in females vs. control mice and male mice.
Dr. Hunsberger investigates the #Alzheimer's exposome, which encompasses individual differences throughout #aging - it includes exogenous factors (e.g. environment), endogenous factors (e.g. genetics, pre-existing conditions, biology), and behavioural factors (e.g. #psychosocial stressors).
15.09.2025 16:23 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0We're gearing up for our first #WHSS of the 2025-2026 line up. Follow along for highlights from Dr. Holly Hunsberger's talk on "Sex, Anxiolytics, and Psychosocial Stress: Vulnerabilities to Aging and Alzheimer's disease" 🤩
15.09.2025 15:56 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
How do sex, stress & anxiety shape risk for Alzheimer’s disease?
Join Dr. Holly Hunsberger on Sept 15 for our next #WHSS talk on vulnerabilities to aging & AD.
📅 Sept 15 | 12pm ET
💻 Free, virtual — register today: ow.ly/KR1150WJEny
#Alzheimers #Research #WomensHealth
Why is it harder for women to quit smoking?
Biological, behavioral & social factors, including ovarian hormones & menstrual cycle changes, play a role.
Read our latest blog: ow.ly/8zxY50WIfuu
#WomensHealth #SmokingCessation #AddictionResearch
Sex, stress & anxiolytics: what do they mean for Alzheimer’s risk? 🧠
Join Dr. Holly Hunsberger for the next #WHSS talk!
📅 Sept 15, 9am PDT / 12pm EDT
💻 Free & virtual – register: ow.ly/Sp1f50WJE9K
Calling all perinatal-mental-health champions!
Join us and @marcenortham in Toronto to map research priorities and spark new collaborations before #MONA2025
Register now: ow.ly/NyEj50Wxxfu
#PerinatalMentalHealth #WHRC #womenmind
📢 Call for Abstracts!
Submit by Oct 1 to present in our Trainee Research Presentation Series:
💡 Hormonal Contraceptives: Insights from Across the Field
📅 Nov 14, 2025 | Hybrid (Toronto + online)
🔗 Details: ow.ly/KTq750WIenV
#WomensHealth #ResearchOpportunity
🔹 Transdermal estradiol (applied on skin) was linked to improved episodic memory – the type of memory often affected early in dementia
🔹 Oral estradiol was linked to improved prospective memory
These findings underscore the need for #precisionmedicine approaches in #womensbrainhealth research.
✨ New Publication Feature ✨ How you take #menopausal #hormonetherapy may shape its impact on #cognition.
A new study by Puri et al. from @liisagalea.bsky.social's group shows route of estradiol administration and cognitive domain matter.
Learn more from the full paper here: 📖 ow.ly/ohlF50WNJiU
New blog: Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) – Myths & Facts
Is MHT dangerous?
Do you have to stop at 60?
Does it increase risk of dementia?
Dr. Laura Gravelsins tackles the evidence & sets the record straight.
👉 ow.ly/prJ650WHHpB
#WomensHealth #Menopause #HormoneTherapy
