The female reproductive system is highly responsive to peripheral endocrine signals, particularly from metabolic tissues. These signals align reproductive function with the body’s energy status, meaning that metabolic shifts can influence ovulation, fertility, and reproductive hormone balance. Conversely, fluctuations in ovarian hormones also shape metabolic health. This reproductive–metabolic crosstalk is most evident at puberty, when ovarian activation is strongly influenced by body size and composition, and at menopause, when the loss of ovarian function is accompanied by metabolic disruption.
My research uses innovative technologies to uncover novel endocrine links between reproduction and metabolism in females. Over my 15-year postdoctoral career in reproductive endocrinology, I have progressed from investigating the biochemical mechanisms of ovarian protein hormone synthesis, to developing technologies for manipulating ovarian function, and more recently to preclinical mouse models to advance our understanding of reproductive physiology. In collaboration with early-career researcher and muscle and metabolic physiologist Dr Adam Hagg, my team is now identifying novel endocrine mediators, such as ovarian inhibins, of reproductive–metabolic crosstalk in females. In this presentation, I will describe our serendipitous discovery that ovarian inhibins act as gatekeepers of female metabolic health and outline our emerging interest in how skeletal muscle and myokines contribute as endocrine regulators of female reproduction