Women's Healthcast: Health and Aging: Perimenopause, featuring Laura Bozzuto

For the next few months, the Women’s Healthcast will dive into all aspects of aging and women’s health, through conversations with experts in the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and beyond.  

And what better topic to kick off this series than perimenopause? Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, joined this episode of the Women’s Healthcast to talk about the common signs and symptoms of perimenopause, treatment options, why the supplements you see online might not be the solution, and exciting updates in the future of perimenopause and menopause care. 

Listen to Health and Aging: Perimenopause now. 

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)  

Bozzuto appointed to Research on Women’s Health Scholars program

Congratulations to Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, who was selected for the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Research on Women’s Health Scholars (RoWHS) program! Bozzuto’s year-long RoWHS appointment begins July 1, 2025. 

Bozzuto will use the RoWHS funding for the project “Patient and provider decision making about ovarian function suppression methods for young breast cancer survivors.” For the year of the program, Bozzuto will have 75% protected time for research and career development activities.  

The RoWHS program is funded by the School of Medicine and Public Health. It provides interdisciplinary career development opportunities for a unique cohort of early career faculty to foster their successful transition to independent funding in women’s health research and sex differences research. 

Incredible work, Dr. Bozzuto!

Bozzuto talks about menopause with Wisconsin Public Radio

Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, joined Wisconsin Public Radio’s Wisconsin Today program for a recent story about menopause.

In “New bill would require menopause education from health care providers”, Bozzuto discussed the basics of menopause and its outcomes, the variety of treatment options, and the importance of menopause education:

“‘It’s important to remember and realize that half of the population is going to experience this at some point and this is a natural process that happens just like puberty. But there’s no fourth grade health class for menopause, other than coming to your doctor with questions. Hopefully having more educational materials available will help.’”

Read the whole article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Melis Baskaya

Bozzuto talks to MDLinx about potential new menopause marker

Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology, spoke with MDLinx for a recent story about developments in the ability to predict perimenopause.

In “Researchers just identified blood markers that could change the game for perimenopause,” Bozzuto focused on how small, dense, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (sdLDL-C) blood markers could be used to by health care providers to proactively predict perimenopause, especially for younger patients trying to navigate fertility decisions.

“People who go through menopause before age 45 also have increased risks of things like heart disease, dementia, and osteoporosis—so we could also intervene sooner if we knew that was going to occur,” said Bozzuto.

Read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Bozzuto talks about menopause symptoms with MDLinx

Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the  Division of Academic Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology, spoke with MDLinx for a recent story about when signs may indicate menopause, or may be associated with more grave circumstances like uterine cancer.

In “Your patient’s menopause symptoms could be a warning sign for something worse,” Bozzuto acknowledged that menopausal symptoms can be different for every patient, making it important for them to be aware of their symptoms and at what time they should seek professional guidance, in case something more serious is going on.

“It can be confusing whether something is just abnormal bleeding that occurs with the perimenopause transition, vs something that’s more concerning like postmenopausal bleeding.”

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Bozzuto’s breast cancer side effect research featured by UW Health

Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology, had her research featured in UW Health, which focuses on ways to improve breast cancer survivorship.

In “Research examines treatment side effects in estrogen-positive breast cancer patients,” Bozzuto discusses research that compares the side effects of both ovary removal and medically-induced menopause via injections in order to reduce estrogen for patients with estrogen-positive breast cancers.

“I think it is important to understand how these treatments impact people’s quality of life and how we potentially help them. That, ultimately, may help their ability to stay compliant with the medications and improve their cancer outcomes,” said Bozzuto.

You can read the full article here.

**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson

Faculty and fellows share research at ASRM 2024 Annual Scientific Congress

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) hosted the 2024 Annual Scientific Congress October 19-23, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Faculty and fellows in the UW Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology led courses and shared their research during the conference:

Bala Bhagavath, MD, director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, taught a half-day course in the ASRM Postgraduate Program. Bhagavath was on the faculty for the course “Inequity in Management of Uterine Fibroids Can Be Addressed by Innovations in Nonsurgical and Surgical Management.”

Bhagavath, who also served on the 2024 Scientific Congress Planning Committee as the Society of Reproductive Surgeons representative, presented on a Symposia panel on October 23 titled “Minimally Invasive Approaches to Management of Uterine Fibroids: Advantages and Limitations.”

Laura Bozzuto, MD, MS, assistant professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, was lead author on “Trajectories In Antimullerian Hormone (AMH) Decline Across The Menopause Transition; Study Of Women’s Health Across The Nation (SWAN)”, which received the Scientific Congress Prize Paper honor during the conference! 

Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Fellow Jayapriya Jayakumaran, MD, was lead author on the paper presented during the Benign Gynecological Disease – Endometriosis and Adenomyosis session: “Diagnosis Of Concurrent Endometriosis Along With Other Infertility Diagnoses, And Its Effect On Outcomes Of Single Euploid Blastocyst Transfer (SEBT): A Retrospective Study Of SARTCORS Data.”

Aleks Stanic-Kostic, MD, PhD, taught “Show Me the Data! Evidence-Based Evaluation and Management of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss”, a full-day course in the Postgraduate Program for the Early Pregnancy Loss Special Interest Group.

Incredible work, all!

Grand Rounds: Shapiro Students present research projects

Every summer, Shapiro Summer Research students collaborate with UW Department of Ob-Gyn faculty on research projects. On August 3, the 2023 Shapiro Summer Research students presented their projects during Ob-Gyn Grand Rounds. 

Presenters, mentors, and projects were: 

Camille Phillips, mentored by Laura Hanks, MD - “Sterilizations Rates of Pregnancy Capable People at a Single Institution in Wisconsin Before and After the Dobbs Decision” 

Amy Tran, mentored by Jon Pennycuff, MD, MSPH - “Pelvic Floor Symptom Burden and Treatment Choices for Rural versus Urban Dwelling Women” 

Lindsey Christianson, mentored by Laura Jacques, MD - “How is the Dobbs Decision Impacting Decision-Making and Perceived Training Options for Ob-Gyn Residency Applicants?” 

Sami Stroebel, mentored by Laura Cooney, MD - “Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSD) & Time to Pregnancy” 

Doua Chee Xiong, mentored by Laura Bozzuto, MD - “Optimizing Care for Patients with Granulomatous Mastitis” 

Watch all the presentations here. 

Women’s Healthcast: Understanding Your Breast Health, with Laura Bozzuto

About one in eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’re replaying this interview with Laura Bozzuto, MD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn. Bozzuto is double certified in ob-gyn and breast cancer surgery.

In the episode, Bozzuto talks about breast cancer symptoms, the latest in screening guidelines, and how to lower your breast cancer risk. 

Listen to Understanding Your Breast Health now.

Did you know the Women’s Healthcast is available on all your favorite podcast platforms? Whether you like to listen on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, Podbean, or anywhere else, you can find us! (Just search Women’s Healthcast, and while you’re at it, may as well subscribe!)

Brown, Williams edit book on older women’s health

What happens when two world-class experts on menopause and pelvic floor disorders work together? They literally write the book on older women’s health concerns.

Heidi Brown, MD, MAS, of our Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, and Makeba Williams, MD, Director of our Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, edited the book “Challenges in Older Women’s Health: A Guide for Clinicians.” Williams and Brown each authored chapters on their respective expertise areas of menopause and bladder and bowel incontinence.

The book also includes a chapter on breast health from UW Ob-Gyn clinical assistant professor Laura Bozzuto, MD, and chapters by UW Ob-Gyn residency graduates Emily Rosen, MD and Lauren Verrilli, MD.

You can find the book here. Congratulations to all involved on this incredible achievement!

Bozzuto publishes executive summary of Early-Onset Breast Cancer Evidence Review Conference, commentary

In 2018, Laura Bozzuto, MD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, was invited to join the ACOG Breast Cancer Evidence Review Panel to review the current evidence on how best to educate women’s healthcare providers about early onset breast cancer, publish a literature review, and serve as content experts in the development of scripts for provider education videos on early onset breast cancer.

The panel published “Executive Summary of the Early-Onset Breast Cancer Evidence Review Conference” in Obstetrics and Gynecology in June:

“This article summarizes the relevant literature, existing guidance, and validated tools to guide health care providers in the prevention, early detection, and special considerations of early-onset breast cancer. Substantive knowledge gaps were noted and summarized to provide guidance for future research.”

The executive summary inspired further commentary in the Green Journal. Read the Executive Summary here, and take a look at the feedback here.