Center for Midlife Science: Improving Health, Enhancing Function

News

IN THE NEWS: “Women farmworkers in Michigan face unique work challenges” on Michigan Radio
Alexis Handal, PhD, MPH and Lisbeth Iglesias-Ríos, PhD, MPH, MAAlexis Handal, PhD, MPH and Lisbeth Iglesias-Ríos, PhD, MPH, MA
“We are finding exploitative conditions that are unique for women farmworkers around issues of sexual harassment, exposures during pregnancy, challenges with obtaining and having access to proper hygiene and sanitation, particularly during menstruation, and also really important aspects of work-life balance and child care issues that women farmworkers in particular face-” — Alexis J. Handal, PhD, MPH (Co-Study Lead, Michigan Farmworker Project).
More at Michigan Radio
March 10 2025
PUBLISHED: “Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Female Reproductive Aging” with lead author and Center Doctoral Student Jiaxin Wu, MPH
Jiaxin Wu, MPHJiaxin Wu, MPH

Congratulations to Center Doctoral Student Jiaxin Wu, MPH, on her first publication as a lead author in Seminars in Reproductive Medicine.

“Female reproductive aging often affects women's emotional, physical, and physiological well-being. Ovarian aging is characterized by fluctuations in reproductive hormones and determines the age at which menopause occurs. Understanding potentially modifiable factors that influence this process is essential for addressing health disparities, improving quality of life, and informing relevant public health strategies. ”
More at Seminars in Reproductive Medicine
March 07 2025
PUBLISHED: “Self-reported history of physical intimate partner violence and longitudinal cognitive performance in midlife women” with lead author and Center Doctoral Student Jillian Baker, MPH, BA
Jillian Baker, MPH, BAJillian Baker, MPH, BA

Congratulations to Center Doctoral Student Jillian Baker, MPH, BA, on her first publication as a lead author in Women’s Health.

“Midlife women with a history of physical intimate partner violence exhibited a persistent decrease in the trajectory of working memory. These longitudinal findings extend previous cross-sectional reports which found that physical intimate partner violence had detrimental effects on working memory. These findings provide additional evidence that intimate partner violence is associated with decreases in working memory performance.”
More at Social Science & Medicine
January 16 2025
IN THE NEWS: “What Do We Know About Environment, Climate, And Menopause? Not Enough” with Center Core Faculty Sung Kyun Park, ScD, MPH
Sung Kyun Park, ScD, MPHSung Kyun Park, ScD, MPH
“Our data suggests that women with higher blood concentrations of PFOA and PFOS reached menopause earlier … than those with low exposure. This is equivalent to the effect of cigarette smoke, a known reproductive toxicant, where we compared current smokers and nonsmokers.”
More at Moms Clean Air Force
November 15 2024
IN THE NEWS: “Discrimination Could Be Making People of Color Age Faster” with Center affiliate Alexis N. Reeves, PhD, MPH on Scientific American podcast (AUDIO 🔊)
Alexis N. Reeves, PhD, MPHAlexis N. Reeves, PhD, MPH
“We found that Black and Hispanic women had a higher risk of having surgical menopause... and we found that hypertension occurred about five years earlier, and metabolic outcomes such as diabetes and insulin resistance about 11 years earlier for Black and Hispanic women versus white women.’”
More at Scientific American’s Science Quickly podcast
September 09 2024
VIDEO: Center student Shichi Dhar featured in “We Are Michigan Public Health”
Shichi DharShichi Dhar
“It’s really important to advocate for Health Equity and advocate for your community because what impacts one person's health impacts everyone else’s.”
More at We Are Michigan Public Health
July 09 2024