University of Tartu Associate Professor Triin Laisk received nearly two million euros to study women’s hormonal sensitivity

The European Research Council (ERC) decided to fund Associate Professor Triin Laisk’s research project, which aims to get a better understanding of the factors affecting women’s health and improve women’s well-being throughout their lives.

A woman’s life is characterised by natural hormonal fluctuations, both within a single menstrual cycle and during various transitional stages, such as puberty, pregnancy and perimenopause. The usual balance may also be affected by the use of hormonal medications, such as contraceptive pills. Hormonal fluctuations are often accompanied by symptoms such as mood changes, weight gain, acne, headaches or hot flushes.

Although hormonal fluctuation is part of the body’s normal functioning, such symptoms can nevertheless seriously disrupt a woman’s life. For instance, most women experience some symptoms in connection with the menstrual cycle, a third of hormonal contraceptive users report unwanted side effects, and 75% of women report symptoms that interfere with everyday life during perimenopause. Yet we still lack the knowledge to fully understand why some women’s bodies respond to hormonal fluctuations in this way.

Triin Laisk emphasized that the ERC’s support signals growing recognition of the importance of women’s health research. Although it is known that genetic predisposition may play a role, and that women with certain hormonal complaints are at risk of similar issues later in life, for example, during menopause, research in this field has long been held back by the attitude that this is simply a normal part of a woman’s life. “It is important to me that this project leads to a better understanding of women’s hormonal health, and that fewer women face a situation where their symptoms are dismissed as merely part of being a woman,” explained the grant recipient.

A landmark study on women’s health

In her new project, Laisk focuses on mapping women’s hormonal sensitivity and applies a novel approach that views hormonal sensitivity as a spectrum. “The idea is simple - women’s bodies differ in how they respond to normal hormonal fluctuation, and this difference shapes the symptoms, side effects and long-term health outcomes,” Laisk explained.

The first step of the project is to conduct a unique study on women’s health among female participants of the Estonian Biobank, collecting information on various manifestations of hormonal sensitivity. This enables researchers to characterise the hormone sensitivity spectrum, subtypes, and trajectories across a woman’s lifespan for the first time on such scale. Genetic data will then be used to identify the genetic determinants of hormonal sensitivity.

At the same time, Laisk plans to investigate how hormone sensitivity affects health more broadly, and whether it can predict health risks or, alternatively, an individual’s profile of side effects when using certain hormonal medications. According to Laisk, their preliminary analyses have found that women who experience more headaches while taking the contraceptive pill also have a higher genetic risk of migraine.

In the final part of the project, genetic information related to hormone sensitivity is used to create genetics-informed cell cultures. Taking the genetic background into account enables a more precise study of how exposure to hormones regulates gene expression in cells, and provides a better insight into the biological functioning of hormonal sensitivity.

Thus, Laisk brings together women’s symptoms, genetics, health impacts and biological mechanisms to deliver a comprehensive overview of the hormone sensitivity spectrum. This, in turn, enables a more personalised approach to assessing health risks and, for example, to prescribing hormonal medications.

Laisk also hopes that, in addition to advancing scientific knowledge, the project will help women become more aware of their health and provide them with higher‑quality health information. “I hope the research we conduct enables us to counterbalance hormone‑related content circulating on social media, which often has no evidence-based background,” said Laisk.

A proud achievement

The budget for the project “Understanding Women’s Health Through the Lens of Hormonal Sensitivity: Genetics, Mechanisms and Health Trajectories” (UNDERwHER) is €1.86 million.

Researchers can apply for an ERC Consolidator Grant if they have 7–12 years’ work experience since completing their PhD, a promising scientific track record, and an outstanding research proposal. These grants are highly esteemed and extremely competitive: ERC received 3,121 applications in the latest call and awarded funding to 349 projects from 25 countries.