Jodi Flaws

One of the most common symptoms that women experience during menopause is sleep disruption. Although this change is thought to be associated with depression, hot flashes, and fluctuating hormone levels, few studies have investigated whether they actually influence sleep. In a new study, published in Journal of Women’s Health, researchers have modeled what factors influence sleep in menopausal women.

Phthalates are a ubiquitous family of chemicals that are used every day. In a new study, researchers have investigated how these compounds affect tissue development in the reproductive systems of female mice offspring.

“Phthalates are found everywhere: building products, personal care products, food and beverage containers, and medical equipment,” said Jodi Flaws (EIRH co-leader/MME), a professor of comparative biosciences. “My research group focuses on how exposure to these environmental chemicals during pregnancy affect the offspring.”

The Director’s Innovation Fund was initiated in 2019 by Scott Fisher, an Illinois alumnus. He wanted to honor his late wife Bonita J. Fisher, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis—a neurological disease that affects millions of people, but has no known cures.

The microbes that inhabit our bodies are influenced by what we eat, drink, breathe and absorb through our skin, and most of us are chronically exposed to natural and human-made environmental contaminants. In a new paper, scientists from Illinois review the research linking dozens of environmental chemicals to changes in the gut microbiome and associated health challenges.

The review is published in the journal Toxicological Sciences.

Scientists at the University of Illinois have found that free fatty acids in the blood appear to boost proliferation and growth of breast cancer cells. The finding could help explain obese women’s elevated risk of developing breast cancer after menopause.