Healthy aging is critical for the present and the future.
Jean Wactawski-Wende, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University at Buffalo, discovers more.
Faculty Bio:
Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, is a SUNY Distinguished Professor and dean of the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions. She is an epidemiologist who focuses her research on understanding factors that influence women’s health.
With more than 25 years of research experience, she is the principal investigator of UB’s Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Center and also leads the WHI Northeast Regional Center, comprising 9 other institutions. Initiated in 1993, the WHI is an National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded, multi-centered study that involves both randomized clinical trials and an observational longitudinal study examining the major factors influencing morbidity and mortality in older women.
In addition to the WHI, she has been principal investigator on dozens of research studies funded by the NIH and other federal agencies. Her interests include research on risk factors and prevention of cancer, osteoporosis and periodontal disease in postmenopausal women. Her current research focuses on the oral microbiome and health outcomes. She has also conducted several studies on reproductive health issues in younger women. As part of this work, she has led several large-scale prevention clinical trials in women.
Transcript:
Thanks to the generosity of thousands of women across the country, researchers like me continue to learn more each day about the major causes of death and disease in postmenopausal women.
Many of these women have completed yearly surveys as part of the Women’s Health Initiative, a long-term national study that began in the early 1990s and has yielded important insights into the risk factors for cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis, among other conditions, in a rapidly growing U.S. demographic. We’re also learning more about the role the microbiome plays in influencing human health and disease.
This research is critical. The number of Americans 65 and older is projected to increase by 42%, to 82 million, by 2050, with women accounting for the majority of this group.
That’s why it is so vital that we continue to learn about how things like diet and exercise play a role in healthy aging.
WHI ancillary studies have allowed my research colleagues and me to report recently in major journals on associations between muscle strength and reduced risk of death in women between the ages of 63 and 99, and the use of menopausal hormone therapy and incidence of a leading cause of corneal blindness. We’ve also investigated how two types of gut bacteria may be associated with a diet high in red meat, eggs and full fat dairy products, which can lead to the hardening of arteries.
Through WHI, we will continue to make further discoveries, while giving young researchers opportunities to advance their careers.
