O'Brien Lab
The O'Brien Lab, led by Sarah O'Brien, MD, MSc, focuses on the intersection between women’s health and hematology. It still takes on average over 10 years after the first bleeding event for a woman to be diagnosed with an inherited bleeding disorder. Our lab studies methods for earlier recognition and detection of reproductive bleeding in menstruating adolescents.
Featured Research Projects
Bleeding Disorders in women are an under-recognized and under-treated condition, and von Willebrand Disease (VWD) is the most common bleeding disorder diagnosed in women. In this NIH R01-funded study, we will develop a screening algorithm for VWD that incorporates a brief bleeding history and point-of-care iron level. We will test the algorithm's validity, acceptability, and feasibility in primary care settings.
Establishing normative data for menstrual bleeding in adolescents by race and body mass index would facilitate earlier diagnosis of abnormal bleeding and earlier interventions to improve health and quality of life. In this NIH R21-funded study we developed and evaluated patient engagement with a menstrual tracking mobile application that allows for real-time collection of patient level data on menstrual blood flow, pain, and the effect of menses on quality of life. The proposed work will yield a new application of technology that can be used in future research studies to both establish normal ranges of menstrual cycle characteristics across the age spectrum and across populations, and measure patient-reported outcomes in clinical trials of interventions for abnormal uterine bleeding.
