Dr. LaCroix is an epidemiologist who specializes in the health of postmenopausal and older women.  She is a leader in the Women’s Health Initiative Program (www.whi.org), a study of more than 160,000 postmenopausal American women who have participated in studies to inform future generations of women about how best to stay healthy since the 1990’s. One revolutionary finding from the WHI Program was a better understanding of the risks and benefits of hormone therapy (estrogen) especially related to effects from long-term use on risk of heart attacks, strokes, hip fractures and breast cancer. Drs. LaCroix, Newton and Reed brought together the MsFLASH investigators to study treatments for menopause symptoms so that women could be well informed about their treatment options if they experienced hot flashes, sleep problems or other bothersome symptoms in midlife. We are deeply committed to making sure that women benefit from the high-quality research that we and others have done to manage the life transition of menopause.