JoAnn / Gloria

JoAnn, 1975.

JoAnn in the 2020s.

Gloria at Harvard.

Dr. Wu these days.

JoAnn Manson talks to former roommate and fellow physician Gloria Wu about her work on the Women’s Health Initiative — the largest study ever conducted on the effects of estrogen on post-menopausal women.

Many women—like those of us in the Class of 1975—will spend 40 per cent or more of their lives after menopause, a situation that has generated tremendous interest in hormone therapy and a corresponding amount of controversy over its effects.

It’s something that physician, researcher, and author Dr. JoAnn Manson is used to. Recognized internationally for her pioneering advocacy in the fields of epidemiology and women’s health, she is one of the most-cited medical experts in her field, having authored or co-authored more than 1,200 peer-reviewed publications in the medical literature.

In this episode of PasstheMic75, JoAnn relates the epic saga of hormone therapy, including her personal journey as a lead investigator and a certain amount of whiplash as results and conclusions have seesawed over the years.

She thinks the future is looking bright for the 1.1 billion women in menopause around the globe, but the work is far from over. Join her for her story of what she calls “a wild ride on a swinging pendulum.”