It’s hard to believe that my time as the author of the “Why Didn’t I Know This?” Women’s Health Research at Yale Blog has come to an end. Through both challenges and successes, I have learned so much through my first experience with scientific writing. First and foremost, I've discovered that I can dive deeply into researching medical topics and emerge with a workable understanding of the material, and I can translate that knowledge into accessible, engaging content for others.
When tackling an extensive topic in healthcare, such as cardiovascular health, I found myself challenged by the desire to cover everything while reminding myself that I had to prioritize what seemed most important. I strove to make the articles understandable yet not oversimplified. Each article became an exercise in distilling the science down to its essential points, without losing the medical information that allows readers to better understand their own health.
One of the most rewarding aspects of this research process has been conducting interviews with Yale faculty physicians. Speaking face-to-face with medical experts has enabled me to gain a better understanding of their fields beyond what the literature imparts. It’s allowed me to capture aspects of the clinical intuition that guides real-world decision-making—insights that don’t always make it onto a printed page. This experience has shown me the dedication of these physicians to their patients and I am thankful for their generosity in sharing their time and expertise.
Thank you so much to my mentor Sara Luciano, our Communications Officer here at Women’s Health Research at Yale, for helping me navigate these challenges. Sara supported me at every step of the way—from outlining to conducting interviews to choosing the artwork for my pieces! Through honest and thoughtful feedback, along with giving me the freedom to explore topics that interested me, she helped me develop confidence as a science communicator. I will miss working with her.
Thank you to Dr. Kelsey Martin and Dr. Carolyn Mazure for exemplifying excellence in women's health research and care. Their passion for teaching undergraduate fellows has helped instill in us a commitment to addressing critical gaps in women's healthcare and has fostered a collaborative environment where we could learn from each other’s diverse interests and perspectives.
Lastly, it’s also been a privilege to learn alongside such thoughtful colleagues, namely my fellow undergraduates who also have spent the year working to address important gaps in medicine and health. The work my peers and I have pursued this year has made it clear how much progress is possible – but how much work still remains.
Aeka Guru
Aeka (‘25), majoring in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Global Health Studies Certificate, has spent two years as a Fellow, working to enhance Yale School of Medicine's curriculum. Working closely with her mentor Dr. Kelsey Martin (our Fellowship leader!), Aeka has been utilizing AI to analyze existing curriculum materials, identifying key locations to include education about sex-based health differences. Aeka is especially grateful that her time as a Fellow has taught her to conduct research from start to finish—from the conception of an idea, to carrying out a project, to writing a manuscript for publication. Work like Aeka’s is a crucial step toward integrating sex-based differences into medical education, helping prepare physicians to deliver more personalized and effective care for all patients.
Chernice Mbogori
Chernice (‘25), double majoring in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Political Science, has spent the year trying to better understand the lived experiences of immigrant women with a history of problematic substance use. With Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Marc Potenza and his wonderful team, particularly Dr. Li Yan McCurdy, Chernice has learned firsthand how to navigate the intricate details that a research project requires—from gaining Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval to recruiting patients for interviews. She hopes that by truly listening to patients and understanding the causes of their struggles, she can help identify practical paths for treatment, recovery, and ultimately prevention.
Alexis Ramirez-Hardy
Alexis ('26), majoring in the Humanities, is researching social determinants of health disparities among BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities and associated gender disparities. Working with clinical psychologists Dr. Manuel Paris, Dr. Monique Cano, and Dr. Oscar Rojas Perez, Alexis studies the unique health challenges in low-income, urban settings and explores potential interventions. Through patient interviews and conversations with mentors, she examines how factors like financial stress create barriers for quitting smoking or alcohol use, and whether exercise programs and physical activity could help with outcomes. With this framework of understanding and empathy, she pursues her long-term goal of working as a physician advancing urban health equity—not only delivering treatment but addressing the systemic barriers that inhibit care.
Kayla Yup
Kayla (‘25), a double major in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health, is a second-year Fellow who was once the author of this very blog! This year, she took on an entirely different project: investigating sex-specific responses to PFAS (long-lasting synthetic chemicals found in many consumer products) chemical exposure in colorectal cancer. PFAS are now detected in the blood of more than 97% of Americans. Under the mentorship of epidemiologist professor Dr. Caroline Johnson, Kayla is asking an urgent question: could PFAS accumulation in women’s bodies be promoting the progression of colorectal cancer? Throughout her time as a Fellow, Kayla has enjoyed learning new lab techniques, participating in meetings with the team, and expanding her understanding of environmental health risks.
If you haven’t had a chance, please read about the work of my other two colleagues Zaharaa Altwaij (‘25) and Andrea Rix (‘26), whose work as Fellows is featured in my piece about cardiovascular health.
Ongoing Questions in Women’s Health
Between writing about autoimmune diseases and menopause and cardiovascular health, I have explored many important topics in women’s health. While I have found helpful answers, many unanswered questions remain. Here are a few topics I believe demand greater attention from researchers and healthcare providers alike:
- Why didn’t I know that rates of cancer are rising in women—particularly young women? Thankfully, with improved detection methods, better treatments, and decreased smoking, cancer mortality rates have declined in the U.S. But for this runner-up killer of Americans, we’re facing another issue. Just a few months ago, in January 2025, the American Cancer Society revealed a shocking statistic: cancer rates in women under the age of 50 are 82% higher than their male counterparts—a rise from 51% higher in 2002. This means that women under 50 are now nearly twice as likely to develop cancer than men in their age group.
But what's causing this disproportionate increase? While rising rates of obesity certainly contribute to the growing statistic, researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center claim that this is only part of the answer: After tracking more than 4,000 adults, their research indicates that for many of these young individuals with cancer, decreased gut microbiome diversity could be a significant contributor.
- Why does it feel like every woman I know has stomach pain? We’ve gotten so used to this norm that it feels inevitable—but it shouldn’t be. On average, it takes four years to be diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), the most common gut disorder. IBS was first described in 1892 by physician William Osler, who reported its high incidence in “hysterical” women. It wasn’t until nearly a century later that IBS would become more widely recognized as a legitimate condition with a physiological basis.
Still, IBS remains largely not understood, serving as a catch-all term for unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms. What we do know is that women are around twice as likely as men to have IBS, with hormonal fluctuations and reproductive anatomy playing a role. I was fascinated to learn that the female colon is not only longer than the male’s, but that it twists differently too! Recent research points to the “gut-brain axis”—the communication between the digestive system and brain—as key to understanding these sex differences in digestive health, but for now, millions of women continue to manage chronic pain without effective solutions.
- Why didn’t I know that pregnancy can act as a “stress test,” since pregnancy complications can serve as a predictor for women’s long-term health? Instead of viewing pregnancy complications as isolated events, we should be making the most of this “predictive” information to improve a woman’s future health. For example, conditions like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and even preterm delivery have been associated with early mortality, in part because these women are at higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and respiratory illness later in life. Why, then, do healthcare systems so often treat women’s health issues as isolated events, as if they simply disappear once the pregnancy has ended?
To navigate this disconnect in care, Yale’s pioneering multidisciplinary Cardiovascular Disease and Pregnancy Program tracks women who have had pregnancy complications to help them improve long-term health outcomes. Hopefully, as the field of cardio-obstetrics grows, women across the country will avert complications and maternal mortality rates will decrease.
As I graduate, I will bring with me a drive to challenge long-standing assumptions, push for better research, and recognize women's health in every aspect of care. The Women’s Health Research at Yale Undergraduate Fellowship has taught me just how critical it is to keep asking the difficult questions that too often go unasked and unanswered. I will proudly carry these new skills with me into each stage of my career.