Keeping the Women we Love Healthy

Meet our Speakers Dr. Banka is known in the research community for being a champion of gender differences in research and in diagnosing and treating illness.   If you ever hear the words “were both gender included in the research/studies?” or “How did gender differences impact the outcome?” then you know it HAS to be her!   Carole L. Banka, Ph.D.  is currently Associate Project Scientist in the Department of Medicine at the UCSD School of Medicine.  She received her Ph.D. from UCSF School of Medicine and did postdoctoral training at UCSD School of Medicine and The Scripps Research Institute. She has held faculty positions at The Scripps Research Institute and the La Jolla Institute for Molecular Medicine where she was Director of Women’s Health Research. Her areas of research include heart disease, fat and cholesterol metabolism, breast cancer and reproductive biology.  Dr. Banka has received numerous awards for her public speaking on women’s health issues and gender diffe

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Did you know… …the sources of stress, the effects of stress and the attempted methods of stress reduction differ in men and women? For example: Women report higher levels of stress than men Married women report higher levels of stress than single women Women are more likely to report money as a source of stress than men Women are more likely to report physical and emotional symptoms of stress Women are more likely to report eating as a result of increased stress Women are more likely to report a lack of will power as a barrier to reducing stress Women are less likely to exercise as a stress management tool The good news? We have begun to understand the physiological explanations for the gender differences Understanding the gender-specific physiological differences has led to more effective gender-based stress management techniques Conclusions o

We all experience stress in our daily lives that diminishes happiness. But how we cope with stress and how stress affects our mental and physical health differs from one individual to the next. The biological response to stress differs in men and women and there are gender differences in effective methods of coping with stress.   The Howell Foundation's Intentional Happiness Series will be holding its first educational series presentation "An Integrative Approach to Stress Management: Reducing Stress and Increasing Happiness".  Learn how the concept of “relational wellness” influences stress management and how “Western” and “complimentary” medicine can be integrated to reduce stress for men and women. Applying simple, “hands-on” stress management techniques to incorporate into your daily life can be the start to successfully manage your stress.   Board Member, Vice-Chair of the Howell Foundation and Associate Project Scientist a the Department of Medi

Dr. Roberta Goettlib, Patty Wellborn and Dr. Carole Banka How does the body age?  It’s all about “cellular housekeeping” to promote a healthier life, and therefore, a longer one.   2014 Howell-CSUPERB Scholars present their field of research. La Jolla, CA. – February 7 th , 2014.    The Doris A. Howell Foundation for Women’s Health Research hosted its first  Luncheon and Lecture of 2014, “The meal you miss could save your life:  How intermittent fasting may extend health-span”.   Dr. Roberta Gottlieb presented the latest research on the relationship between fasting and the benefits that ultimately lead not only to a healthier life, but a longer one.  When asked about the secrets of longevity, Dr. Roberta Gottlieb, Director of Molecular Cardio-biology at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, commented that it is all about having a lifestyle that promotes cellular heath.  Intermittent fasting along with exercise and caloric restriction allow f

Thoughts by Carole L. Banka, Ph.D. Just in time for Valentine’s Day when most are focused on heart-shaped boxes bearing candy, comes an intriguing report about “love” and the heart. In a study published last week in Psychological Science , researchers report that it is not the overall quality of a marriage that predicts heart disease, it is, instead, the perceived support each partner receives from the other in times of stress. Couples who had been married for an average of 36 years were assessed as to their perception of support from their partners and their degree of coronary artery calcification (CAC) a documented marker of heart disease.   In 30% of the couples, both partners reported ambivalent support;  that is, sometimes positive and sometimes negative.  Those “ambivalent” couples were found to have significantly greater CAC than the other 70% of couples.  When the data was normalized for other cardiovascular risk factors such as age, gender, lipid levels and smok

Pictured here 6 of the 12 Howell-CSUPERB scholars:  Posed:   Standing (left to right)  Matthew Siracusa, Matthew Dalphin, Sam Nguyen;  Front (left to right)  Lindsay Bradford, Nina Bubalo, Patricia Nguyen Congratulations to the 2014 Howell-CSUPERB Scholars!  CSUPERB recently presented the Howell - CSUPERB students that will be receiving scholarships to fund their undergraduate research in subjects related to women's health. CSUPERB reported that the CSU-Howell Foundation partnership resulted in the award of 12 scholarships from 7 different CSU universities, totaling $42,000. CSUPERB received 24 applications from students at 11 different CSU campuses.  A strict protocol is followed in the choice of the students, including review of the students' scholarship applications, and quality of supervision during their research work. This supervision has become known as the "Mentor Program." It is the lifeline to the program's success. Each student must have a qua