“Pretty much every organ system you can think of is touched by the ovaries,” says Francesca Duncan, a reproductive biologist at Northwestern University and Buck Institute for Research on Aging

“Pretty much every organ system you can think of is touched by the ovaries,” says Francesca Duncan, a reproductive biologist at Northwestern University and Buck Institute for Research on Aging

Ovaries are one of the first organs to age, and their decline shapes women’s health decades later

In December 2025, the Division of Aging Biology, National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in collaboration with staff from other NIA divisions, NIH institutes and ...

We used to think post-menopausal ovaries sat inert in the body, but evidence from mice suggests they may instead turn into an organ with a role in inflammation

This work was supported by the Gates Foundation [INV-003385]. Under the grant conditions of the Foundation, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License has already been assigned to the Author A...

Mouse and human data suggest ovaries develop a new function after reproductive duties end

Mouse and human data suggest ovaries develop a new function after reproductive duties end

Reproductive aging in females is characterized by the irreversible depletion of ovarian follicles, yet the structure and function of the post-reproductive ovary remain poorly defined. Using paired his...

A drug with antifibrotic properties may improve fertility

The ovarian follicle is the functional unit of the ovary that produces hormones and gametes needed to sustain female reproductive function and health. The ability to recapitulate folliculogenesis, ovulation, and luteinization in vitro has broad basic, translational, and clinical utility. The most ad …

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit that advances human-based science, and InSphero, a global leader in 3D in vitro technology for drug safety and efficacy ...

In the race to live longer and better, two innovators are breaking the mold and focusing on surprising new areas of a woman’s body. Maria Shriver sits down with Francesca Duncan, a top researcher at N...

Lab-made organoids that mimic reproductive tissues could point to treatments for common conditions such as pre-eclampsia and endometriosis.

Learn about the history and importance of the gender gap currently impacting women's health sciences

Learn about the history and importance of the gender gap currently impacting women's health sciences - Join us on 28 August

Investigators led by Francesca Elizabeth Duncan, PhD, have discovered new molecular mechanisms that enable specialized immune cells to cause ovarian aging and functional decline, according to a recent...

Ovulation is a complex process that is tightly controlled in a spatiotemporal manner, but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. This study reports single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in mouse ova...

Ovarian multinucleated giant cells are a unique macrophage population that arise within the aging mammalian ovary. This study characterizes their transcriptome in mice, uncovering a potential role in ...