Panel: The Why, What, and How of Menopause

Dr. Harlow is Professor Emerita of Epidemiology and Global Public Health in the UM School of Public Health and of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her research focuses on women's health including menstrual function and gynecologic morbidity across the reproductive life span. Her most recent work addresses reproductive aging, menopause and disparities in midlife health. Dr. Harlow was the Principal Investigator of  the Michigan site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation  (SWAN) from 2011-2021, a cohort study of midlife women she helped launch in 1996. Dr. Harlow led the multi-study ReSTAGE project that empirically evaluated proposed markers of reproductive aging in four cohorts and led the 2011 concensus workshop on staging reproductive aging, STRAW+10.

Dr. Karvonen-Gutierrez is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the UM School of Public Health and Director of the Center for Midlife Science. Her research focuses on critical periods of risk for adverse health outcomes in women. Specifically, she evaluates the impact of chronological aging, reproductive aging, and obesity and their intersections, on the development and progression of chronic disease. To address her research agenda, Dr. Karvonen-Gutierrez utilizes both epidemiologic and clinical research designs, leveraging her leadership in ongoing cohort studies as well as new data collection efforts. Dr. Karvonen-Gutierrez is the Principal Investigator of many NIH-funded studies focused on women's health and aging, including the Michigan site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation and the Michigan Bone Health and Metabolism Study, both of which include 30+ years of follow-up with participants as they move from midlife into late adulthood.

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Randolph completed his medical education at the University of Cincinnati in 1980, his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan in 1984, and his fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Connecticut in 1986. He has been on the faculty of University of Michigan since completing his training. He served as the Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility for 23 years, and established and served as Director of the fellowship training program in that discipline for 20 year. He has a long-standing research interest in the endocrinology of ovarian aging and the menopausal transition, having been a co-principal investigator of the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation Michigan site since 1996. Dr. Randolph has been a member of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Gender Services Program since its inception in 1994, initially as the gynecologic surgeon on the surgical team and, later, taking on the role of primary endocrinologist. He has treated hundreds of women for issues relating to reproductive aging and the menopausal transition.