Vijaya and research participant in chair.

Jean Wactawski-Wende

PhD

Jean Wactawski-Wende.

Jean Wactawski-Wende

PhD

Jean Wactawski-Wende

PhD

Research Topics

Biomarkers; cancer; hormone therapy; hormonal variation; menopause; oral microbiome; osteoporosis; oxidative stress; periodontal disease; women's health.

Overview Publications Research Projects News

UB News

Tripathi interviews Wactawski-Wende in latest episode of ‘Take Five’

Dr. Wactawski-Wende discusses the history and future of the WHI in this episode of “Take 5,” Tripathi’s series of Zoom conversations with faculty, students, staff and alumni who are making a positive impact on the communities UB serves.

  • UB’s newest mobile clinics, Health on Wheels, are ready to serve WNY
    8/25/25

    Health on Wheels will provide a variety of health services, including nutrition education, smoking cessation support, physical activity promotion, and education on how to manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

  • Study examines how diet quality impacts oral microbiome
    4/11/25

    Women who followed healthier diets had lower abundance of certain oral microbiome bacteria, including bacteria that can promote gum disease and heart infections.

  • Health disparities at the beginning stages of life is focus of NIH-funded study
    1/19/24

    Study aims to fill a gap by investigating socio-economic, racial and ethnic disparities in children’s health and development from birth through the first year of life.

  • Study: Caregiving associated with 9% lower risk of death
    12/1/23

    Findings are significant given the burden of caregiving — and its impact on health — will be substantial in the years to come. 

  • More than a market, UB Veggie Van is a ‘living lab’
    9/27/23

    On-campus mobile market is designed to test  innovations developed through the Veggie Van Study, while giving students the opportunity to learn through a related food entrepreneurship course.

  • With pandemic looming large, UB public health school sees significant increase in applications
    3/8/21

    Undergraduate applications to the School of Public Health and Health Professions have jumped by 70% over last year.

  • UB, UBMD launch long COVID registry
    9/22/22

    Open to anyone who believes they have long COVID, the registry provides a forum to report symptoms, learn about treatments and opt into research studies.

  • Study: Some oral bacteria linked with hypertension in older women
    3/2/22

    The findings are particularly relevant for postmenopausal women, since the prevalence of high blood pressure is higher among older women than older men.

  • The ‘silent epidemic’: Study reveals impact of loneliness among older American women during the pandemic
    2/7/22

    This increase in loneliness and loss of social connections — which the research team called a “silent epidemic” — has resulted in worsening mental health.

  • Study finds no association between caffeine intake and invasive breast cancer risk
    9/27/21

    Overlap of age at diagnosis of breast cancer and age with high consumption of caffeine, and inconsistent findings from previous studies, motivated researchers to study whether caffeine could affect breast cancer risk.

  • Study: Getting a good night’s rest is important for better bone health
    11/12/19

    Getting five or fewer hours of sleep a night is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD) and higher odds of osteoporosis, according to the findings of the largest study of sleep and BMD to date among U.S. postmenopausal women.

  • $8.1 million grant will extend UB’s participation in Women's Health Initiative
    12/2/20

    With this extension through 2027, the WHI will have been continuously funded for 35 years.

  • Study finds association between physical activity, lower risk of fracture
    11/6/19

    Women who did the highest amount of physical activity had an 18% lower risk of hip fracture and 6% lower risk of total fracture.

  • Tooth loss linked to high blood pressure in older women
    12/7/18

    The UB study found that women who had loss all their teeth had 20 percent higher risk of developing hypertension than women who still had natural teeth.

  • Study: Strenuous exercise in adolescence may ward off height loss later in life
    5/23/18

    A new study has identified several key factors in postmenopausal women that are associated with height loss, a common occurrence in this age group that is known to increase the risk for death and disease.

  • History of gum disease increases cancer risk in older women
    8/1/17

    Postmenopausal women who have a history of gum disease have a higher risk of cancer, according to a UB-led study of more than 65,000 women that's also the first to report an association between the disease and gallbladder cancer risk.

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Photographer: Douglas Levere