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Character, Not Just Credentials: What Pre-Med Discourse Says About the Future of Medicine
An Interview with Dr. Rekha Srinivasan The Story For this month’s OvaCare article, I sat down with Dr. Rekha Srinivasan, a professor at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Sri, as she is known to her students, teaches the notoriously challenging subject of Organic Chemistry to hundreds of pre-med students each semester. Recently, she has noticed a concerning trend: a small but significant number of these students are making negative and personal comments about their profes
Neko Dossett
Osteoporosis: A Female Targeted Condition
What is Osteoporosis? Every year, millions of women experience fractures caused by osteoporosis, often without realizing their bones were weakening for decades. Osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by reduced bone density and increased fragility. When osteoporotic bones experience even minor stress, a fragility fracture can occur. These fractures are most commonly found in the hip, spine, wrist, and forearm. Osteoporosis develops with age as the body's process of mai
Neko Dossett
Mar 26 min read
GLP-1 Medications and What They Do in the Body
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications are everywhere right now. Social media highlights dramatic weight loss, celebrities openly discuss weekly injections, and headlines often frame them as miracle drugs But these medications were originally created to treat Type 2 diabetes, and their effects reach far beyond the number on a scale. GLP-1 medications influence the pancreas, brain, heart, liver, and even reproductive hormones. Understanding them means looking at how the
Sameera Devulapally
Mar 24 min read
Creatine: How One Nutrient Supports the Female Body
Creatine and the Brain: Support for Memory, Mood, and Mental Energy Creatine is most commonly linked to muscle performance, but growing evidence highlights its importance for brain health as well. The brain is one of the most energy-demanding organs in the body. Nearly every cognitive process, including memory formation, emotional regulation, and sustained attention, relies on a constant supply of ATP. Although the majority of creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, smaller a
Sameera Devulapally
Feb 24 min read
Toxic Shock Syndrome: Separating Fear From Facts
Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) is a rare but serious condition that is often discussed in connection with tampon use. Media stories about TSS tend to focus on shocking personal experiences, which can make the risk feel much larger and more frightening than it actually is. While these stories can raise awareness, they often leave out important scientific context. Understanding what TSS is, how it develops, and how rare it truly is can help people make informed and confident decisi
Sameera Devulapally
Jan 52 min read
The Science of Breast Cancer Today
Breast cancer research has advanced rapidly in recent years, providing women and their clinicians with better tools to detect cancer early and understand how different tumors behave. These discoveries matter because they guide decisions about screening, treatment, and long-term care. As science improves, women can make more informed decisions with greater confidence (National Cancer Institute, 2025). Art by Shea Davis Improving Screening Technology Mammography remains the
Sameera Devulapally
Dec 1, 20253 min read
Hormones and Drugs: How the Pharmaceutical Industry has Failed Women
The Problem Have you ever felt that your medication simply isn’t working as well as it usually does on a particular day? If you have, there may be a predictable, physiological reason for it. Drug metabolism, absorption, and elimination rates often shift dramatically with hormone levels. This is especially true of sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. These hormones can impact the transporters, enzymes, and receptors that are involved in how the body reacts to a med
Neko Dossett
Dec 1, 20254 min read
Breast Cancer and Its Unequal Burden
Breast cancer affects women across the country, but not everyone has the same chance of early detection, high-quality treatment, or long-term survival. These differences are shaped by race, income, neighborhood resources, and access to healthcare. Understanding these disparities is an essential step toward creating programs that support all women, not only those with strong insurance or nearby medical facilities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024). How Race and
Sameera Devulapally
Dec 1, 20253 min read
Medical Gaslighting: A Woman's Narrative of Biomedicine
What is Medical Gaslighting? The term medical gaslighting has become increasingly common in conversations about women's healthcare, but what does it really mean and how can it be prevented? Medical gaslighting is defined by the American Journal of Medicine as “an act that invalidates a patient's genuine clinical concern without proper medical evaluation, because of physician ignorance, implicit bias, or medical paternalism.” We’ll unpack this definition throughout the artic
Neko Dossett
Nov 3, 20255 min read
Endometriosis: More than "Bad Periods"
Endometriosis is one of the most common gynecological conditions, but also one of the most misunderstood. For centuries, women’s pain was brushed off as exaggeration or “hysteria.” Even today, many women with endometriosis wait close to ten years before receiving a correct diagnosis, often after seeing multiple doctors who dismissed their symptoms (Backman, 2024). Endometriosis happens when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in places it shouldn’t, like on the
Sameera Devulapally
Nov 3, 20252 min read
Women and Heart Disease: The Awareness Gap
What comes to mind when thinking of symptoms of heart disease? For most people, the answer is obvious: chest pain. But here’s the...
Sameera Devulapally
Oct 6, 20253 min read
Developments Towards Personalized Care for Pregnancy-Related Depression
This article will summarize and debrief the research paper titled, “Toward personalized clinical interventions for perinatal depression:...
Neko Dossett
Sep 1, 20255 min read
Alzheimer’s in Women: What We Know
Globally, nearly two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer’s disease are women, and they are roughly twice as likely to develop the...
Sameera Devulapally
Sep 1, 20252 min read
Alzheimer’s in Women: Beyond Biology
While biology and hormones influence women’s risk for Alzheimer’s, social and cultural factors also play an important role in shaping...
Sameera Devulapally
Sep 1, 20252 min read
The Voices Behind OvaNews
OvaNews would not be possible without our Newsletter Chairs. Every few weeks, they translate dense policy shifts and new medical findings into plain language, making sure our community stays informed and empowered. Their words help turn knowledge into action, one issue at a time.
Shea Davis
Lead Artist
University of Texas at Austin
Sameera Devulapally
Newsletter Writer, Medical Research
Case Western Reserve University
Neko Dossett
Newsletter Writer, Medical Research
Case Western Reserve University
Shriya Mehta
Newsletter Writer, Policy
Cornell University
Momoko Monzur
Newsletter Writer, Health Economics
Case Western Reserve University
Charithma Peiris
Newsletter Writer, Medical Research
Case Western Reserve University
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