How Two Scientists Are Revolutionizing Women's Health
By Science Communicator | August 9, 2025
Uterine fibroids affect up to 80% of women by age 50, causing debilitating pain, infertility, and life-disrupting symptoms. For decades, treatment meant invasive surgeries—often hysterectomies—forcing impossible choices between health and fertility. Enter Dr. James Segars of Johns Hopkins and Dr. Ayman Al-Hendy of the University of Chicago, physician-scientists pioneering non-surgical revolutions in women's health. Their collaborative work on green tea extract, stem cell therapies, and precision medicine is transforming fibroids and endometriosis from surgical sentences to manageable conditions. This is the story of how a lab alliance is rewriting medicine's approach to the female reproductive system 1 2 6 .
Uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) are noncancerous tumors growing in the uterine wall. Though benign, they cause heavy bleeding, pelvic pain, and reproductive failure. Shockingly, they account for:
Endometriosis—where uterine-like tissue grows outside the uterus—affects 1 in 10 women, causing chronic inflammation, scarring, and infertility. Both conditions share a cruel irony: they're driven by hormonal dysfunction yet resist standard hormonal treatments. Traditional therapies either temporarily mask symptoms or remove organs entirely—until now 5 9 .
At Johns Hopkins, Segars leads the Howard W. and Georgeanna Seegar Jones Laboratory, dissecting how fibroids hijack cellular pathways. His team's breakthroughs include:
"Our organoids replicate the fibrosis and hormone response seen in patients. This lets us test hundreds of drugs without risking a single woman's health."
Al-Hendy's Chicago lab focuses on real-world therapies, including:
"Why remove an organ when we can correct its biology? Our goal is to make surgery the last resort, not the first."
| Research Tool | Function | Innovation |
|---|---|---|
| Mesenchymal stem cells | Deliver therapeutic genes to fibroids | Al-Hendy's ROSE trial reversed ovarian failure |
| 3D organoid models | Mimic patient-specific disease microenvironments | Segars' team studies progesterone resistance |
| CRISPR-mediated MED12 editing | Recreate fibroid driver mutations | Proves MED12's role in tumor growth |
| Vitamin D analogs | Shrink fibroids via vitamin D receptors | Al-Hendy's trials show 30% volume reduction |
| m6A epitranscriptome analysis | Maps RNA modifications in fibroid cells | Reveals ethnic disparities in pre-fibroid myometrium |
In 2021, Segars and Al-Hendy launched a multicenter randomized trial testing epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)—green tea's active compound—against uterine fibroids.
| Parameter | EGCG Group | Placebo Group | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fibroid volume reduction | 42.7% | 8.3% | <0.001 |
| Heavy bleeding resolution | 68% | 22% | <0.01 |
| Pregnancy rate | 39% | 18% | 0.004 |
| Liver adverse events | 1.2% | 0.9% | 0.82 |
| Outcome | EGCG Group | Placebo Group |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical pregnancies | 39% | 18% |
| Miscarriages | 11% | 22% |
| Live births | 83% of pregnancies | 64% of pregnancies |
"Imagine a blood test detecting fibroid risk at 20, followed by preventive green tea therapy. No surgery. No infertility. That's our moonshot." – Dr. Segars 1 5
"Stem cells aren't science fiction—they're tools we're adapting today to regenerate reproductive health." – Dr. Al-Hendy 6
Segars and Al-Hendy represent a new breed of collaborative physician-scientists—ones who bridge molecular insights and patient-centered solutions. Their work has already:
As clinical adoption grows, their legacy won't be measured in papers (over 400 combined), but in generations of women living free from pain and full of possibility. In the fight for reproductive justice, biology itself is becoming the ally.
For further reading, visit the Segars Lab and Al-Hendy Lab.