New member passionate about women’s health

Clinician-researcher Dr. Jamie Benham, MD, PhD, is interested in solving unique health problems faced by women.

As an endocrinologist, Benham treats people with conditions related to their hormones, such as diabetes. A large part of her clinical practice focuses on diabetes in pregnancy and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common cause of female infertility that impacts up to 12 per cent of women of childbearing age.

Benham’s research interests focus on these conditions and how they impact a woman’s risk of developing cardiovascular conditions with the goal of improving the odds for women.

“Screening for risk factors is key to putting preventative measures in place,” says Benham, noting further data collection and research needs to occur to truly provide the best outcomes for women.

It’s an important area of interest because according to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, people with diabetes are three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks, heart failure and strokes. Studies suggest PCOS doubles a woman’s risk of cardiovascular disease.

Gestational diabetes increases an individual’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by between four and seven per cent. Numerous other factors come into play when it comes to assessing a woman’s risk of developing cardiovascular conditions during her life, including the age of onset of menstruation and menopause.

Despite all these considerations, women have historically been understudied when it comes to cardiovascular disease.

Benham is joining a growing number of researchers within the Libin Cardiovascular Institute’s Women’s Cardiovascular Health Initiative who are working to change that.

Academic Background

Benham’s interest in the intersection of endocrine conditions and cardiovascular disease is a natural progression of her academic career.

Benham’s undergraduate training was in kinesiology and exercise science, which looks at ways exercise can prevent disease. She completed her medical degree at the University of British Columbia and internal medicine residency at the University of Calgary. It was during this time that she developed a passion for endocrinology.

Benham’s desire to learn didn’t end there. She earned a PhD in epidemiology at the University of Calgary studying in the lab of Dr. Ron Sigal, MD, a clinician-researcher whose research focuses on clinical trials related to physical activity, obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Her doctoral research looked at the impact exercise has on individuals with PCOS that found that exercise training was effective at improving some cardiovascular risk factors in women with PCOS including body mass index, insulin resistance, and lipid profiles. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/cen.14452)

Benham is now busy setting up her own research program that pulls together all her previous training. She’s excited about the possibilities.

“I am very excited to be involved with the Libin Institute,” she says. “I am looking forward to great collaborations that will ultimately improve women’s health.”

Jamie Benham, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the depts. of Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. She is a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health.