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Harmonising Menopause, Microbiome and Women's Wellbeing at the Cork Jazz Weekend

14 Oct 2024

‘Microbiome, Menopause & Wellbeing’ takes place on Saturday 26th October at the River Lee Hotel, Cork, with a stellar lineup of women’s health experts who will cover microbiome, menopause, nutrition and more with an interjection of jazz!

Organized by Dr Siobhain O’Mahony who is a trailblazer who is pioneering novel research on women’s health in collaboration with APC Microbiome Ireland (APC), a world leading Research Ireland Centre, the event celebrates International Menopause Day (Oct 18^th) and Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. Dr O’Mahony is a scientific investigator at APC and a senior lecturer in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College Cork (UCC).

Dr O’Mahony is spearheading research capacity in women’s health at UCC as she has established a Women’s Health Research and Innovation Group, which aims to map women’s health research across Ireland and tackle the under-representation of women’s health on the Irish research agenda. According to Dr O’Mahony “there is a major gender-health gap, despite half of the population of the world experiencing women’s health issues, it is still disappointing how little resources are dedicated to research in this area”.  Dr O’Mahony is making a real difference in women’s health research and is hoping Ireland can become an international leader in this field. Dr O’Mahony is one of the researchers from eleven countries across Europe who were recently awarded nearly €7 million to develop AI-based diagnostic methods and innovative interventions for endometriosis. Dr O’Mahony leads the microbiome work packages of this five-year EU Horizon consortium project.

Engaged research is the cornerstone of the upcoming event ‘Microbiome, Menopause & Wellbeing’ meaning that the audience contribution informs the research going forward. The event kicks off with a fireside chat with Dr O’Mahony who will give an overview of the current state of play in women’s health research. Highlight speakers include UCC’s Dr Samantha Cushen who is a cancer nutrition specialist speaking about the significance of protein, fibre and supplements; Dr Jennifer Cuppage, senior clinical psychologist, will give a deep dive into breathwork and Lucy Kenefick of Nu Me Collective will share the transformative power of movement in menopause. And don’t forget the music! A classic Jazz quartet will bring the flavour of the Jazz weekend to this highly anticipated event.

Dr O’Mahony has been part of APC since its inception in 2003 when the microbiome was a nascent research area. Her research has contributed to the understanding of how the gut microbiome communicates with the brain to influence mood, behaviour and cognition. Dr O’Mahony’s research group investigates how our microbiome is essential to our health. She is specifically interested in pain, brain development, and stress-related disorders and how these may be impacted by sex differences and treated through manipulation of the gut microbiome. Dr. O’Mahony’s focus on women’s health includes investigating the role of the microbiome in hormonal balance and developing novel strategies to improve health and wellbeing during key stages of a woman's life, including pregnancy and menopause. Earlier this summer she received an honorary conferring from the Faculty of Pain Medicine at University College Dublin for her exemplary 20-year contribution to research on microbiome and pain. She will speak at Food Matters Live in Dublin on the 6th of November.

‘Microbiome, Menopause & Wellbeing’ takes place on Saturday 26th October at River Lee Hotel, Cork. Tickets are limited, on sale now from Eventbrite