Women weren't required in clinical trails until 1993
For decades, the male body was treated as the default in biomedical research.
As Dr. Jennifer Garrison has highlighted, women were often excluded from clinical trials because hormonal cycles were considered "too complicated," and because of concerns that experimental treatments could affect a pregnancy.
As a result, many medications, disease models, and treatment guidelines were developed using predominantly male participants. Female biology remained underrepresented across biomedical research, with female animals often excluded from laboratory studies until sex became a required biological variable in federally funded preclinical research in 2016.
Decades of underrepresentation left major gaps in our understanding of female biology. One of the most significant consequences is how much we still have to learn about ovarian biology.
Far beyond reproduction, the ovaries help regulate hormones that influence the brain, bones, muscles, metabolism, cardiovascular health, and immune function. Their health has profound implications for women's healthspan and longevity, yet for decades, one of the organs most central to healthy aging received remarkably little scientific attention.
Better science starts with studying everyone.
Learn more at getwonderfeel.com/learn.