Author: Chloe Bird

Chloe Bird, Ph.D., is the Sara Murray Jordan professor of medicine and the director of the Center for Health Equity Research at Tufts University School of Medicine.

What the PCOS-PMOS Rebrand Tells Us About the State of Women’s Health Research

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The announcement in May of 2026 that polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) will be renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) was a genuine milestone. After 14 years of global collaboration, 22,000 survey responses and workshops spanning every inhabited continent, researchers and patients finally agreed on a name that reflects what the condition actually is: not a quirk of the ovaries, but a complex, multi-system disorder of hormones, metabolism, and endocrine function affecting one in eight women worldwide.

For decades, the term polycystic had patients and clinicians alike focusing on ovarian cysts, while metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance went underappreciated and undertreated. Patients report feeling dismissed, confused, and dissatisfied with their care. The very name, researchers concluded, contributed to stigma, delayed diagnosis and fragmented policy.

But renaming a disease is not the same as researching it. And for women’s health, the research has been underfunded and undervalued for so long that a vocabulary fix (however warranted) cannot close the gap on its own.

Can Catholic Colleges Block Free Condom Distribution?

The Affordable Care Act requires that birth control be made available through health plans, in some cases without co-pays or deductibles. That’s prompted religious institutions to object to paying for care that’s not consistent with their values. But Boston College’s recent steps to stop free condom distribution doesn’t involve sponsoring birth control—it involves location. Boston […]

Making Heart Disease a Women’s Issue

In the past two months, two of my friends–both seemingly healthy women–became unlikely victims of cardiovascular disease. One, a woman who by any textbook definition would be considered at low risk for heart problems, nonetheless suffered a heart attack. Thankfully, she is recovering. The other, a longtime friend and a mentor of mine, tragically passed […]

Celebrating Birth Control on Mother’s Day

On Mother’s Day, we honor the women in our lives for all they do–meal planning, financial planning and family planning, to name a few. Regrettably, the latter task is going to cost mothers even more, as coverage for reliable birth control and related services comes under increasing challenge in the U.S. Last week, Gov. Jan […]