This call was hosted by the CHE-EDC Strategies Partnership.
Infertility among women is of increasing concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics during the years 2011 and 2013, 6.1% of married women were considered to be infertile in the United States alone. The percentage of infertile women may reach 30% worldwide.1
BPA is a high-production volume chemical used in a wide variety of common consumer products, and despite the relatively short half-life of BPA (6–24 hours), it has been measured in 95% of the US population and has been found in various reproductive tissues including ovarian follicular fluid, placenta, breast milk and colostrum.
On this call, Dr. Jodi Flaws discussed her current research investigating mechanisms by which prenatal exposure to bisphenol A may cause female infertility. Dr. Flaws presented results of her research indicating prenatal BPA exposure may morphologically alter the ovary and reduce female fertility and that some of the effects of BPA on female reproduction are transgenerational in nature.
Featured Presenter
Jodi Flaws, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Comparative Biosciences at the University of Illinois. Her main area of focus is determining the genetic and environmental factors that affect the female reproductive system. Her laboratory aims to address which genes and hormones regulate normal development and function of the ovary; the effects of environmental toxicants on the development and function of the ovary; the mechanisms that underlie the effects of reproductive toxicants on the ovary; and the environmental exposures associated with reproductive abnormalities in women. In 2009 Dr. Flaws received the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence. Since 2013 she has been a Fellow with the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. She holds professional affiliations with the Society for the Study of Reproduction, the Society of Toxicology and the Endocrine society. Dr. Flaws earned her PhD at the University of Arizona
This teleconference call is one in a monthly series sponsored by the Collaborative on Health and the Environment’s EDC Strategies Partnership. The CHE EDC Strategies Partnership is chaired by Carol Kwiatkowski and Katie Pelch (TEDX), Sharyle Patton (Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center), Jerry Heindel (Commonweal Program on Endocrine Disruption Strategies), and Genon Jensen (HEAL) and coordinated by Maria Williams (Collaborative on Health and the Environment, a Commonweal program). To see a full list of past calls and webinars related to EDCs and listen to or view recordings, please visit our partnership page.
This call was moderated by Sharyle Patton, Director of the Commonweal Biomonitoring Resource Center. The call lasted for 30 minutes and was recorded for the call archives.