JAMA Network launches JAMA+ Women's Health
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Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, the JAMA+ Women’s Health Editor in Chief, will curate the site.
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Chicago, IL — The JAMA Network announces the launch of JAMA+ Women’s Health, a new digital resource designed to elevate the visibility and accessibility of trusted, peer-reviewed content that advances health care for women across the globe.
Recognizing that women’s health is more comprehensive than reproductive care, gynecologic and breast cancer, and menopause, JAMA+ Women’s Health will showcase rigorous studies that include or focus exclusively on women from across JAMA and the 12 JAMA Network journals.
Linda Brubaker, MD, MS, the JAMA+ Women’s Health Editor in Chief, will curate the site.
“There’s been so much conversation about personalization of medicine, getting down to a single individual” says Brubaker. “But if we even made the big step forward to understand the differences in genetic and physiology that women have, we will improve health care outcomes.”
JAMA+ Women’s Health curates resources from across the JAMA Network:
- A select library of hundreds of peer-reviewed studies and reviews
- Multimedia content including expert interviews, podcasts, and explainer features
- Content that highlights underrecognized or underutilized approaches
“I understand the critical importance of women’s health scholarship, and I know that we need more of it. It’s essential that top journals actively promote this work,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, M.D., Ph.D., M.A.S., Editor in Chief of JAMA and the JAMA Network. “At the JAMA Network, we have a broad and influential platform to do just that. JAMA+ Women’s Health is our way of amplifying the rich, deep content published throughout our network. Under the leadership of Dr. Linda Brubaker, this vital scholarship will receive the visibility and recognition it deserves.”
Learn more about JAMA+ channels and check out JAMA+ AI.
For more information, contact JAMA Network Media Relations at 312-464-JAMA (5252) or email media relations.
Good vibrations could revolutionize assisted reproductive technology
ITHACA, N.Y. – In the quest to address infertility, Cornell University researchers have developed a groundbreaking device that could simplify and automate oocyte cumulus removal, a critical step in assisted reproductive technologies.
Their vibration-powered chip not only simplifies a complex procedure but also extends it to areas of the world lacking skilled embryologists or well-funded labs—reducing overall costs. This offers hope to millions of couples struggling with infertility – and makes fertility treatments more accessible worldwide.
“This platform is a potential game-changer,” said Alireza Abbaspourrad, associate professor of food chemistry and ingredient technology in food science. “It reduces the need for skilled technicians, minimizes contamination risks and ensures consistent results – all while being portable and cost-effective.”
Abbaspourrad is co-author of “On-Chip Oocyte Cumulus Removal using Vibration Induced Flow,” published Sept. 5 in the journal Lab on a Chip.
Doctors treating infertility need to do a critical step: gently separate protective cumulus cells from oocytes, the developing egg cells. The process, known as cumulus removal (CR), is essential for evaluating oocyte maturity before spermatozoon injection, or ensuring successful fertilization after insemination in in vitro fertilization.
Traditionally, CR relies on manual pipetting: by flushing the single oocyte repeatedly with a micropipette, cumulus cells are detached from the oocyte. However, the technique demands precision, expertise and significant time. Errors can lead to damaged oocytes or failed fertilization, making the procedure a delicate and labor-intensive task.
The team’s innovation: a disposable, open-surface chip that uses vibrations, which they call vibration-induced flow, to automate CR. The chip features a spiral array of micropillars that create a whirling flow when vibrated, separating smaller cumulus cells from larger oocytes.
“The process is fast, efficient, noninvasive and more consistent, while reducing manual labor and preserving embryo development outcomes,” said Amirhossein Favakeh, a doctoral candidate in Abbaspourrad’s lab and a co-author of the study. “The oocytes remain safely in the loading chamber, while the cumulus cells are swept into an adjacent collection well.”
To ensure the safety of the technique, the team compared fertilization and embryo development rates between oocytes denuded manually and those treated with vibration induced flow. The results were nearly identical: fertilization rates were 90.7% for manual pipetting and 93.1% for vibration induced flow, while the rate of formation of blastocysts, balls of cells formed early in a pregnancy, were 50.0% and 43.1%, respectively.
“This shows that our method doesn’t compromise the developmental potential of the oocytes,” Abbaspourrad said.
“Ordinarily, the whole process is costly and delicate; clinics invest a lot of time in training, and it is very dependent on human resources,” Abbaspourrad said. “With this, you don’t need a highly trained human to do it. And what is really important is there is almost no chance of damaging or losing the cell.”
For additional information, read this Cornell Chronicle story.
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Journal
Lab on a Chip
Article Title
On-Chip Oocyte Cumulus Removal using Vibration Induced Flow
Article Publication Date
5-Sep-2025
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