Two McMaster PhD candidates have been named 2022 Ontario Women’s Health Scholars for their innovative research.

Jennifer Williams has been recognized for her research investigating the connection between oral contraception pills and women’s cardiovascular health.

Melissa Furtado has received a renewal on her 2021 Ontario Women’s Health Scholars Award for her research on mitigating anxiety during and after pregnancy.

Both will receive scholarships of up to $50,000 to continue their important research.

The annual awards are funded by the Ontario government and administered by the Council of Ontario Universities.

Read more about their critical research below.

Jennifer Williams

Jennifer Williams is investigating the effect of sex hormones, including those found in hormonal contraceptives, on early risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women.

Williams, a PhD candidate in the Vascular Dynamics Lab, is working under the supervision of Maureen MacDonald, the dean of the Faculty of Science.

Approximately 1.3 million Canadian women are currently using oral contraception pills (OCPs) and they are the most common prescription for women in Canada between the ages of 15 and 44. Yet, minimal research exists exploring the short- and long-term effects of hormonal oral contraception pills on measures of cardiovascular health.

Williams’ doctoral research aims to investigate these effects using artery response to a series of stimuli, alongside other indicators, such as the stiffness of arteries and markers found in blood, observed using ultrasound technology.

Williams is an advocate for women’s health and inclusion of women in basic and clinical research and is passionate about education and research on the integration of sex/gender in biomedical research.

Melissa Furtado

Melissa Furtado is investigating effective and safe treatment options for anxiety in pregnant and perinatal individuals with the aim of improving health outcomes for both the parent and child.

Furtado, a doctoral student in the Research and Clinical Training stream in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, studied psychosocial and biological risk factors of postpartum anxiety worsening in individuals with pre-existing anxiety disorders as part of her master’s research.

Furtado is building on these learnings by focusing on the area of intolerance of uncertainty and developing a potentially preventative psychological treatment for postpartum anxiety.

Her research will examine the use of a new Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program for intolerance of uncertainty to be completed during pregnancy, and will investigate how effective this low-risk, focused treatment can be in this population.

CBT programs targeted towards intolerance of uncertainty in non-perinatal individuals have found positive improvements for anxiety symptoms and overall outcomes. Furtado’s study, if successful, will be the first to determine if a low-risk, focused treatment during pregnancy could prevent the development of postpartum anxiety.