Principal Investigator:

Nina Stachenfeld, PhD
Associate Fellow,
John B. Pierce Laboratory

Associate Professor
Epidemiology & Public Health
Yale University School of Medicine

Research Interests

The regulation of body fluid and sodium content involves the integration of several physiological systems. A number of investigations have found that hormones involved primarily in reproductive function, specifically estrogen and progesterone, have important effects on the systems that regulate body fluid balance. Estrogen, for example, can alter the "set point" around which the thirst mechanism and kidney water reabsorptive functions regulate body fluid content. Progesterone appears to affect body fluid content through its impact on the hormones that regulate body sodium content. The study of these hormones is challenging in young women because estrogen and progesterone fluctuate during the menstrual cycle. Consequently, Dr. Stachenfeld has examined these systems in older postmenopausal, women before and during treatment with estrogen, and has used the birth control pill to control the levels of estrogen and progesterone in young women.

Current Projects

Representative Publications