How vaginal lipids, antioxidants, and protective molecules affect menopause-related genitourinary symptoms across races
Official title: A multi-omic and integrative longitudinal evaluation of the role of lipid, antioxidant, and osmoprotectant metabolites in the genitourinary syndrome of menopause by race and ethnicity.
Funded at Mc Laughlin Research Institute · NIH-11470677 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are tracking vaginal and blood chemicals in postmenopausal women of different races to learn how lipid, antioxidant, and osmoprotectant molecules relate to genitourinary menopause symptoms.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mc Laughlin Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Great Falls, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2023 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $244,811 |
| NIH project number | 4R00AG081495-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11470677 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Postmenopausal women with genitourinary symptoms who can provide vaginal swabs, blood samples, and complete questionnaires, with an emphasis on enrolling participants from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not postmenopausal, do not have genitourinary symptoms, or cannot attend clinic visits or provide biological samples are unlikely to benefit from this project.
What this research studies
This project follows postmenopausal women over time to measure vaginal bacteria and metabolites as well as blood markers related to lipids, antioxidants, and osmotic protection. Participants will provide vaginal swabs, blood samples, and answer symptom questionnaires at multiple visits, and researchers will combine microbiome and metabolite data. The team will compare patterns by race and ethnicity to understand why symptoms and biological changes differ across groups. Findings aim to reveal biological signals that could guide better prevention or treatments for menopausal urogenital problems.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could identify biological markers or targets that lead to better prevention or treatments for vaginal and urinary symptoms after menopause, especially for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked vaginal microbiota and oxidative stress to menopausal urogenital symptoms, but this longitudinal multi-omic approach across diverse racial and ethnic groups is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Mc Laughlin Research Institute
Great Falls, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Borgogna, Joanna-Lynn C — Mc Laughlin Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Borgogna, Joanna-Lynn C
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how vaginal tissue changes after menopause affect reproductive health
A research team is studying why the vaginal lining changes after menopause and how this affects health, with potential solutions to improve comfort and reduce infection risk for postmenopausal women.
-
Menopause, hormones, and Alzheimer’s disease: an in vivo perspective
This project explores how hormone therapy around menopause might influence the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in postmenopausal women.
-
PREMAP: Predictors of Menopause-Related Psychosis
A study to understand what factors predict psychosis that can occur during menopause, with a focus on women going through that transition.
-
Menopause, Hormone Therapy, and HIV Risk in Cervical M mucosa
This project looks at how menopause and menopause hormone therapy may change the immune guard in the cervix, potentially affecting HIV risk for aging women.
-
Menopause, brain health, and aging: how hormones shape risk for dementia
This project looks at how menopause and hormone therapy affect brain aging and dementia risk in women.
-
Reproductive events, menopause, and aging in Latina women
This project follows Latina women to understand how puberty, pregnancy, and menopause relate to aging and late-life health risks.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.