SUMMARY
Stephanie S. Faubion, M.D., M.B.A., is a clinician and researcher with more than two decades of experience in women's health at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Faubion evaluates and treats women with menopausal, hormonal and sexual health concerns. Her scholarly interests span differences based on sex and related social factors in disease, menopause, hormone therapy, cardiovascular health and healthy aging.
As a field leader in women's health and menopause research, Dr. Faubion is acutely aware of persistent gaps in the evidence base that informs clinical practice. Her research agenda is intentionally translational: Research questions arise directly from unresolved clinical dilemmas encountered in daily practice. The goal is to generate data that meaningfully improve patient care.
To support this work, Dr. Faubion and her research group developed the Data Registry on Experiences of Aging, Menopause and Sexuality in 2005. This longitudinal clinical database includes more than 12,000 women and has supported multiple impactful research studies.
In parallel, Dr. Faubion fosters strong interdisciplinary collaborations with clinical investigators and basic scientists within and beyond Mayo Clinic, recognizing that advancing women's health requires integrated, team-based approaches.
Focus areas
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Factors impacting menopause. Together with clinician-researchers and basic scientists, Dr. Faubion developed and continues to refine a clinically based research infrastructure grounded in the experiences of patients seen at Mayo Clinic Women's Health clinics. The Data Registry on Experiences of Aging, Menopause and Sexuality emerged in response to recurring clinical questions. The registry enabled systematic study of patterns and variation in menopause symptoms as they relate to cardiovascular risk factors, sleep disturbances, migraine and other common comorbidities.
The research of Dr. Faubion emphasizes that the menopausal experience is shaped not only by physiology but also by environmental, psychosocial and relational factors. This understanding is essential to individualized care.
Dr. Faubion also led the Hormones and Experiences of Aging study. This study resulted in a seminal publication on the impact of menopause symptoms in the workplace and their implications for women's health and work productivity.
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Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP‑1)-based therapies and hormone therapy in women at midlife. With the rapid uptake of GLP‑1 receptor agonists for obesity and cardiometabolic disease, Dr. Faubion expanded her research focus to investigate their intersection with menopause and hormone therapy use in women at midlife. Emerging literature highlights potential synergies in weight-loss outcomes and broader metabolic and cardiovascular implications during the menopause transition and beyond.
Despite widespread clinical use of both therapies, high-quality data guiding their concurrent use in women at midlife remain limited. Dr. Faubion and her team aim to clarify clinical best practices directly addressing questions increasingly encountered in menopause care.
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Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and long-term cardiovascular risk. Dr. Faubion is also involved in efforts to advance the understanding of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. This is an understudied condition with potential long-term health consequences.
She is supporting the development of an international functional hypothalamic amenorrhea registry, with participation from individuals in more than 20 countries. This global effort allows for robust phenotyping and longitudinal follow-up, facilitating the study of reproductive, metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes.
Preliminary evidence suggests that functional hypothalamic amenorrhea may confer excess future cardiovascular risk in some individuals. This underscores the need for systematic data collection and long-term investigation to inform prevention and management strategies.
Significance to patient care
Dr. Faubion looks at women's health from both world and lifelong points of view. She believes stronger research of women's bodies and diseases is needed to improve medical guidelines and help care teams give more-personalized care.
Dr. Faubion's work supports efforts by the National Institutes of Health and the Office of Research on Women's Health to better understand how sex affects health and medical care.
Through research training and teamwork across different fields, Dr. Faubion is helping build programs and mentorship opportunities for future women's health researchers. Her work aims to improve care for women at every stage of life.
Professional highlights
- Penny and Bill George Director, Mayo Clinic Center for Women's Health, Mayo Clinic, 2019-present.