Aleisha Moore, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at 91˛Öżâ, is exploring how the brain can influence hormones and fertility. One area of research for Moore is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), a condition that affects nearly 10 percent of women worldwide and is the most common cause of anovulatory infertility. PCOS causes health issues beginning at puberty and continuing throughout women’s lives, and it increases their risk of other diseases and illnesses, including depression, anxiety, obesity, insulin resistance, and gynecological cancers.
Despite the prevalence and seriousness of PCOS, the funding for research into this disease and other forms of female reproductive health is scarce, making Moore one of the few scientists worldwide studying this syndrome. The gap between science and women’s health isn’t new. According to the National Institutes of Health, women weren’t legally required to be a part of clinical trials until 1993. This historical exclusion had a detrimental effect on the study of women’s health, but Moore is attempting to expedite some breakthroughs with the research in her lab.
Moore’s interest in women’s reproductive health began during her Ph.D. studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand. . As a neuroscientist and a woman, the intersection of the brain, hormones and fertility was doubly fascinating to her - and it remains an emerging area with many opportunities for inquiry and discovery. Early in her postdoctoral career, Moore received a Pathways to Innovation grant from the National Institutes of Health, which provided funding for five years to further her research. So, she followed her passion for women’s health more than 8,000 miles from her home in New Zealand to 91˛Öżâ, where she knew she would have the resources and support to continue her important work through the university’s Brain Health Research Institute (BHRI). Additionally, she is now working with Michael Lehman, Ph.D., director of BHRI, and Lique Coolen, Ph.D., who have made a remarkable discovery that Moore is building from in her work as well.
The BHRI is a collaborative effort that taps passionate faculty members from across the university and professionals in research and healthcare from around the region for an interdisciplinary approach to solving brain-related challenges. An initial investment from the university as well as philanthropic support helped establish the BHRI with its state-of-the-industry labs. Philanthropy has also bolstered Brain Health Research Institute Undergraduate Fellows, a program that offers undergraduate students opportunities to participate firsthand in groundbreaking research with faculty mentors, such as Moore. These fellows are also able to get their own research off the ground and share their findings in peer reviewed publications while being compensated for their time and effort.
“These students have been invaluable to me,” said Moore of the students who assist in her lab. “They find the work to be so rewarding, especially when they get to see something that they have started grow into bigger projects.”
But her commitment to the students extends beyond the lab as she works to develop the next generation of researchers. Moore’s own mentors, including Dr. Rebecca Campbell and Dr. Lique Coolen, played a profound role in guiding Moore through her research career, as she sought to carve out a place for herself in a heavily male-dominated field. Many of the students in Moore’s lab are women as well, and she takes her mentorship role seriously as she seeks to empower other female scientists to thrive as researchers.
In many ways, Moore has intertwined her research with an unwavering sense of advocacy for women in STEM - both those on the research side and those who may benefit from their findings. Her dedication to studying women’s reproductive health is a step in rectifying historical gender inequities in science and medicine, paving the way for a brighter future, one where the gap between resources and funding in women’s health has finally been closed - a future where the voices of women in science are heard, valued and celebrated.