Canadian physiologist Angela Baerwald has been a major force behind developments in our understanding of female reproductive biology, in particular ovarian dynamics. A native of Saskatchewan, Baerwald has been an assistant professor of reproductive endocrinology and infertility in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, since 2005.
She started her education at the University of Saskatchewan in 1993 and graduated with honors in 1997. As an undergraduate, Baerwald studied changes in ovarian function during the first trimester of pregnancy (Hess et al. 2000). In 1998, she began doctoral work in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, working to characterize ovarian function during natural menstrual cycles. Her groundbreaking finding that multiple waves of antral ovarian follicles develop throughout the menstrual cycle received international recognition, as it challenged the traditional notion of a typical 28-day human cycle. These follicular waves resemble those previously documented for domestic farm animals and giraffes (chapter 6). Knowledge of follicular waves in women enabled proper timing of ovarian stimulation protocols to treat infertility, such that stimulation can be initiated at more than one time of the menstrual cycle. Baerwald also characterized follicular development in women using hormonal contraceptives (Baerwald et al. 2005). She found that the majority of antral-follicle development during hormonal contraceptive use occurred during the 7-day hormone-free interval. These findings contributed to the development of new hormonal contraceptive regimens in which the hormone-free interval has been reduced or removed. Baerwald also helped evaluate the transdermal contraceptive system, resulting in its approval by Health Canada (Pierson et al. 2003).
After completing her doctoral degree, Baerwald held a postdoctoral research associate position for 1 year at the Fertility Center, Ottawa Civic Hospital, University of Ottawa, Canada, where she evaluated the effects of synchronizing ovarian stimulation with follicle wave emergence in couples undergoing assisted reproduction.
Currently, Baerwald’s research focuses on evaluating ovarian function in women of reproductive age, as well as those transitioning to menopause. Her recent work suggests that aberrant antral follicular dynamics during the transition to menopause leads to acute and atypical elevated estradiol (Vanden Brink et al. 2013). The clinical significance of these changes is under investigation. She also continues interdisciplinary research to characterize and compare follicular dynamics in women and mares.
Text from Reproduction in Mammals: The Female Perspective, Hayssen and Orr 2017
Photo courtesy of Angela Baerwald