by Megan Carlson, Guest Blogger for the Oncofertility Consortium

My name is Megan, and I will be your guest blogger for today.

I’m a journalism graduate student who had the great pleasure of shadowing Dr. Teresa Woodruff Tuesday as part of my health and science reporting practicum.

As soon as I arrived at 8 AM, Dr. Woodruff and I hit the ground running– greeting and checking in with the entire staff, from the program managers to the researchers already diligently at work in the lab.  This daily process is part of Dr. Woodruff’s efforts to maintain open communication with the entire lab.

We next traipsed over to a large conference room, where a group of 15 mostly-female scientists were already gathered with coffee and notepads ready for the weekly staff meeting, called the “R3 Data Club.”  Dr. Woodruff insists the entire team (who are located in several different locations) meet via web conference each week to discuss developments in the lab and present their research.  This is another explicit effort by Dr. Woodruff to ensure her team acts on the same page and immerses younger team members in the mission and work of the lab.

While some of the nitty-gritty details flew over my head (my knowledge of science could probably fill a thimble), I was impressed by the engagement of the staff as they listened to and questioned postdoctoral fellow, Pam Monahan, PhD’s, presentation on interactions among signaling pathways leading to potential disruptions in follicle development (itself, a possible contributing factor topolycystic ovary syndrome).

After the meeting, we rushed off to a government relations teleconference where a group, including Sharon Green, executive director of the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) and Nadia Johnson, a program manager, planned the Chicago and Springfield Women’s Health Week celebrations.  Dr. Woodruff quickly switched her hat from hard-nosed scientist, asking pointed questions to her researchers about gene signaling pathways, to politically-savvy division chief, strategizing about how to best promote gender-specific scientific research to legislators, scientists and other interest groups.

I spent the remainder of the day shadowing Dr. Woodruff as she discussed efforts to increase enrollment in the Illinois Women’s Health Registry–an initiative that seeks to overcome the lack of sex-specific scientific research by connecting female research participants and researchers— and then following program managers and researchers who introduced me to the work of the Oncofertility Consortium.

The day was an educational whirlwind.  I absorbed a flood of scientific information about infertility, fertility preservation, and the reproductive system (augmented by time I spent Monday in the reproductive fertility clinic of Dr. Mary Ellen Pavone, who works closely with Dr. Woodruff).  I also witnessed the behind-the-scenes political work, research, and coordination that function to produce the newest innovations in fertility treatment and women’s health.  It was fascinating to see all the cogs in the machine interact together to create these beneficial and progressive outcomes.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. Countries around the globe have started celebrating Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with 31 days spotlighting prevention, education, and finding a cure. While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same. We have made a lot of progress but still have a long way to go!

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month gets under way, consider how you will make a difference this month in the lives of the one in eight women who will be diagnosed with the disease. Whether it’s donating to charities that directly fund cancer treatment or pressuring government to take real action, make your involvement have the most impact.

Know The Facts:

Each year, approximately 70 thousand men and women age 15 to 39 are diagnosed with cancer in the US. Breast cancer accounts for roughly 15% of all cancers in this age group. Young women with breast cancer struggle with many issues either not present or much less severe in the lives of older women; including, the possibility of early menopause and effects on fertility.

Get Involved with Legislation:

To make meaningful change in the lives of those living with breast cancer, Breast Cancer Action is urging advocates to “move beyond ‘awareness’ and pink ribbons.” The 2012 Breast Cancer Action Mandate urges government officials to push legislation that keeps corporations from polluting the environment and pushes pharmaceutical companies and biotech firms to prioritize patients over profits.

Support Grassroots Organizations:

It’s not just the big name charities that you should be supporting. Consider getting involved with grassroots organizations that are tackling the issues that don’t garner mainstream attention. The Young Survival Coalition for example, focuses exclusively on the unique issues young women with breast cancer face. It provides comprehensive resources, support and education to address every phase of a young woman’s breast cancer experience. The Keep Abreast Foundation also works specifically with young people educating them on how to eradicate breast cancer for future generations.

A new study points to indoor tanning as a cause for melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer, particularly among young sunbed users.  Overall, there was a 20% increased risk for melanoma with any indooor tanning, according to Mathieu Boniol, PhD, of the International Prevention Research institute in Lyon, France, and colleagues.   The risk nearly doubled when sunbed use began before age 35.

“Powerful ultraviolet tanning units may be 10 to 15 times stronger than the midday sunlight on the Mediterranean Sea, and repeated exposure to large amounts of ultraviolet A delivered to the skin in relatively short periods (typically 10 to 20 minutes) constitutes a new experience for humans,” Boniol’s group observed.

The last meta-analysis on risk of melanoma with indoor tanning was conducted in 2006. It showed an increased risk, but no dose-response could be identified.  Since that time considerably more data have been published, so Boniol and colleagues performed an updated meta-analysis that included 27 studies and 11,428 cases of melanoma from 18 countries in western and northern Europe…Read about the rest of this study and about its findings in young people on the Institute for Women’s Health Research Blog.

In many women with recurrent breast cancer, the estrogen receptor(ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status of their tumors changes between treatment for the primary tumor and relapse, a large retrospective study has found. The findings, published June 18 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, support previous studies that have also detected changes in these biomarkers during cancer progression.

These three biomarkers help doctors choose the best treatments for individual women. Therefore, tumors that recur in the breast or appear elsewhere in the body should be biopsied “as a routine procedure” because the results may influence treatment decisions, recommended the authors led by Dr. Linda Lindström of Cancer Center Karolinska in Sweden.

Dr. Lindström and her colleagues used information from pathology reports for 1,010 women treated at three hospitals in Stockholm, all of whom had biopsies taken from their primary and recurrent breast tumors….Read the rest of the blog on our sister website at the Institute for Women’s Health Research.

So let’s talk about clinical trials. Has anyone out there ever participated in one or know of someone who has? Have you ever thought about participating in one, but held back because you didn’t have enough information about what it would entail?  A lot of people fall into that category – they want to help out, but they don’t know enough about it or if it’s right for them, but I’m getting ahead of myself… Before we go any further, let’s talk about what a clinical trial exactly is.

A clinical trial is basically a scientific term for a test or study of a drug or medical device on people. These tests are done to see if the product is safe and effective for people to use. Health care providers run the tests according to strict rules set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which are put in place to make sure that people who agree to be in the studies are treated as safely as possible. Volunteering for these tests is important because 1) you get to try a new treatment that may or may not be better than those that already exist and 2) you may also help others better understand how the treatment works in people of different races and genders.

On Saturday, October 15^th we will be partnering in an event with the Center for Information & Study on Clinical Research Participation (CISCRP) to implement a one-day, free, open to the public education program in Chicago at the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center of Northwestern University.  It is entitled AWARE for All – Clinical Research Education Day. The purpose is to raise awareness of clinical research within the community and empower attendees to make educated decisions regarding their participation.  This is not an event to recruit or register people for clinical trials; AWARE for All is simply an educational opportunity for people who want to learn more about clinical research participation.

Along with conducting educational workshops, Aware for All will be providing free health screenings, an information and exhibit area, opportunities to meet local doctors, free raffle and prizes, and a delicious lunch for attendees.  If this seems like it’s right up your alley, please visit www.ciscrp.org to register or to get more information. Women and minorities are particularly encouraged to attend this event as they have historically been under-represented in clinical trials (and you’ll learn more about why it’s important to change this!). We hope to see you there!

Summer Teacher Fellowship Team (L-R): Mark Prosise (Curriculum Developer), Amy Elliott, Kari Bodine, Miranda Bernhardt (Lab Coordinator), Sowmya Anjur, Kristen Perkins (Curriculum Coordinator), Nadia Reynolds (Fellowship Coordinator); not pictured: Qurrat Waheed. Photo by Eugene Galdones.

By Nadia Reynolds – The Oncofertility Summer Research Fellowship (OSRF), a program that brings science teachers and college undergraduates into the Woodruff Lab, was initiated in 2009 with the support of a two-year American Recovery & Reinvestment Act grant.  For the past three years, high school biology teachers and Oncofertility Saturday Academy (OSA) alumnae have been hired to work in the Woodruff Lab over the summer, through the OSRF program.  Two teachers and two OSA alumnae participated in 2009, and five teachers and three OSA alumnae participated in 2010.

This year, OSRF was supported by the main Oncofertility Consortium grant, and four teachers were selected to participate in the program.  The teacher fellows included: Sowmya Anjur, a veteran teacher for Illinois Math & Science Academy, Qurrat Waheed, a new teacher at Westinghouse College Prep, and Kari Bodine and Amy Elliott, both teachers at Lakes Community High School.  The teacher fellows learned about the science behind fertility preservation, the bioethical issues surrounding the field of oncofertility, and participated in the development of new high school science lab modules called the Northwestern University Biology Investigations in Oncofertility, or NUBIO.

NUBIO includes a set of labs that were developed via a collaboration between local high school teachers and researchers in the Woodruff Lab in an attempt to teach students basic biology skills and advanced biotechnology techniques through the context of cancer, reproductive science, and oncofertility.  The teacher fellows expanded upon the already developed NUBIO labs as individual summer projects, which included new units on cancer, bioethics, and patient case studies.

OSRF was a huge success this year, and we wish all of our teacher fellows the best as they return to their schools in the fall to pilot NUBIO!  And next week we welcome the OSA alumnae student fellows into the lab!

A rapidly expanding body of research indicates that many reproductive health problems and cancers may be caused by exposure to chemicals that are widely dispersed in our environment and which we come into contact on a daily basis. These problems include infertility and cancers of reproductive organs. Chemicals are commonly highlighted in media stories and public policy debates due to increasing evidence of exposure in the population and potential health risks. These chemicals are particularly harmful when exposures occur during vulnerable periods of development.

On April 19^th, the Institute for Women’s Health Research hosted Dr. Tracy Woodruff, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and Director of the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Woodruff has done extensive research and policy development on environmental health issues, with a particular emphasis on reproductive and development health in relation to exposure to environmental chemicals.

Recently in the media, we have been inundated with messages about the dangers of environmental chemicals such as Bisphenol A, otherwise known as BPA. BPA is used extensively in producing certain hard plastics made into many products such as baby bottles and canned food lining. It is an endocrine disruptor that in mice causes numerous harmful physiological effects, and some research suggests that corresponding studies in humans produce similar results.  This chemical as well as other environmental contaminates are particularly damaging when exposure occurs during development stages such as in utero and puberty.

According to Dr. Woodruff, “the majority of people in the US have some measurable amount of pesticides and chemicals in their body and the timing that they were exposed is as important, if not more important than how much they were exposed to.” Studies show that children who were exposed to environmental chemicals in utero are more likely to develop childhood leukemia. In addition, women who were exposed to environmental chemicals during significant developmental stages are more likely to suffer from infertility or vaginal cancers.  Coinciding with this evidence, both the Endocrine Society and the National Cancer Institute have released reports concurring that exposure to environmental chemicals can lead to adverse reproductive outcomes, infertility and certain cancers.

So what can we do to avoid the ubiquitous presence of pesticides, BPA and other harmful environmental chemicals? On an individual level, we can reduce our consumption of processed foods. That is to say we should buy less canned and packaged goods and buy more fresh foods whenever possible. When buying fresh foods, we need not break the bank and buy all organic, but there are certain foods with a higher amount of residual pesticides that you should try and buy organic whenever possible. Another way to reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals is by microwaving your food in glass rather than plastic. Finally, you should be especially diligent about reducing your exposure to environmental chemicals if you are pregnant or have small children in an effort to reduce their likelihood for health issues down the line. Through simple lifestyle modifications, we can  minimize our exposure to chemicals which have been linked to both infertility and cancer and reduce our likelihood for adverse health conditions.

The National Mall in Washington D.C. was the place to be for inquisitive minds this past weekend–the USA Science and Engineering Festival held there on Saturday and Sunday drew crowds of nearly 1 million people who took part in over 1,500 hands-on activities, exhibits, and science shows.  Our own Institute for Women’s Health Research had one of these exhibits, where Cathryn Smeyers and I were able to share information about the Women’s Health Sciences Program and to help spread the word about Oncofertility.

Did you know that the “pimento” in most cocktail olives isn’t really a pimento at all–it’s actually made from a compound that comes from seaweed?!?  No?  Well you’re not alone–this came as a surprise to most of the 2000 visitors to our booth, each of whom diligently dissected that “little orange thingy” out of an olive and found out what in the world it has to do with women’s health.  They found out that the seaweed compound inside some olives is called alginate, and each visitor got to mix some alginate with a calcium solution and watch what happened.  Even kids as young as 2 were eager to give it a try and to squish the little beads that formed when the alginate came in contact with calcium.  Our slightly older audience members were also very interested to find out how researchers at the Oncofertility Consortium are using these little alginate blobs as a sort-of artificial ovary–allowing ovarian follicles placed inside them to hold their 3D shape as they grow, so that we can learn how to grow healthy eggs outside of the body.  To learn more about this process for yourself, check out this animation at myoncofertility.org.

The Festival was a very exciting and inspiring place to be!  It was invigorating to see so many young people excited about all kinds of science, and to hopefully encourage them to become part of the next generation of leaders in science and medicine.  This Festival was the inaugural run of what will hopefully become an annual event.  Be sure to check out the 2010 Expo Days Recap Video to get a taste of what the Festival had to offer!  In the words of President Obama, “Keep exploring, keep asking questions, keep having fun.  The future of this country and the advancements of the next century are in your hands.”  “My hope is that this festival is just the beginning for all of you–that’s not just the power of science, that’s the promise of America.”

Recently, WBEZ Chicago’s Eight Forty-Eight came to the Oncofertility Consortium to interview Dr. Woodruff about fertility preservation for cancer patients.  While the interview mainly discussed new techniques that will provide hope for cancer patients facing potential infertility, the interview also discussed the Illinois Women’s Health Registry and the Oncofertility Saturday Academy.

From the WBEZ website:

Last year, Dr. Teresa Woodruff won a $21 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the Oncofertility Consortium. There she hopes to develop new fertility treatments for people who have undergone treatment for cancer. While many people can survive a cancer diagnosis, the treatments can destroy fertility. Dr. Woodruff runs The Woodruff Lab at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and also runs the Oncofertility Saturday Academy. It brings young women from a small high school on Chicago’s South Side into the lab to learn basic biology and clinical medicine.

The audio of the interview is included!

Eight Forty-Eight Interview

A new blog for the Institute for Women’s Health Research Launched today!   Check it out here.

Established in November of 2007, the Institute for Women’s Health Research was created at Northwestern University to help accelerate basic science and clinical research that will advance our knowledge of women’s health. Their mission is to increase the women’s health research portfolio at Northwestern University and their clinical affiliates; they focus on 5 ambitious goals to accomplish this mission:

• To foster research that explores the sex and gender determinants of health and disease with an emphasis on women
• To encourage interdisciplinary research, diversity inclusiveness and a comprehensive approach to women’s health research
• To prepare researchers, scientists and clinicians who understand the sex and gender determinants of health and disease; develop leadership among women and girls interested in science
• To accelerate the translation of basic science research into clinical practice
• To become the authoritative resource for the community on women’s health issues and provide opportunities for the community to engage in the advancement of women’s health