The Ovary’s Job Doesn’t End at Menopause: A Top Neuroscientist Explains

In this episode of unPAUSED, Dr. Mary Claire Haver talks with Dr. Jennifer Garrison, a neuroscientist and entrepreneur, about why the ovary should never have been labeled a purely reproductive organ. Dr. Garrison explains that ovaries function like a second brain in the body, sending and receiving chemical signals to nearly every tissue system including the heart, bones, brain, immune system, and metabolism. She walks through her research on the hypothalamus and the brain ovary signaling network, describing how inflammation in this part of the brain may be one of the earliest drivers of aging across the whole body.

The conversation covers why the ovary ages roughly two and a half times faster than the rest of the body, a gap that helps explain the health span difference between women and men. Dr. Garrison and Dr. Haver discuss how poor ovarian function shows up across a woman's life, not only at menopause, contributing to conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, early menopause, depression, metabolic disease, and autoimmune disease. They also unpack why autoimmune conditions rise sharply after menopause and why women's immune systems respond differently to viruses than men's.

Guest links:

Jennifer Garrison, PhD (LinkedIn)

Jennifer Garrison (X)

Jennifer Garrison (Bluesky)

Jennifer Garrison (X Prize)
Jennifer Garrison (The Institute)

Books

“The New Perimenopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

“The New Menopause"⁠ by Dr. Mary Claire Haver

For full show notes, please click here.