SUMMARY
Jewel M. Kling, M.D., M.P.H., has dedicated her career to studying and improving care related to menopause, female sexual health and LGBTQ health. She is a skilled educator in these areas of sex- and gender-specific medicine. Dr. Kling has evaluated how important factors, such as intimate partner violence and sleep, may relate to menopausal symptoms and female sexual functioning. She is committed to equity, inclusion and diversity. As part of this work, she has evaluated menopausal symptoms in underserved women in the Phoenix area.
Focus areas
- Menopause and female sexual health. Dr. Kling is a co-investigator for Mayo Clinic's Data Registry on Experiences of Aging, Menopause and Sexuality (DREAMS) database, as well as the Hormones and ExpeRiences of Aging (HERA) registry of midlife women. These clinical data registries have allowed Dr. Kling and colleagues to evaluate important relationships of clinical outcomes as they relate to menopausal symptoms and female sexual functioning.
- Associations of pituitary ovarian hormones, and cognition and neuroimaging in recently menopausal women. Dr. Kling has collaborated with investigators from the Kronos Early Estrogen and Prevention Study (KEEPS) Continuation Study to evaluate the relationships of pituitary ovarian hormones and outcomes related to cognition and the use of neuroimaging.
- Education of health professionals. Dr. Kling has worked with colleagues to evaluate best practice education models as they relate to medically appropriate and culturally agile care for people in the LGBTQ communities and people harmed by human trafficking. Integrating sex- and gender-specific medicine into the medical curriculum is a major focus of her work.
Significance to patient care
Prior to the 1990s, medical research was predominantly done in men or male models and then applied to women. Women's health research aims to evaluate sex-specific findings that can advance clinical care for women. Dr. Kling's research on menopause and female sexual functioning provides clinically relevant findings that can be incorporated into clinical practice to improve health outcomes in women. Improving education for medical trainees, on these topics and more, will improve future clinical care.
Professional highlights
- Suzanne Hanson Poole Dean, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine — Arizona Campus, 2024-present.
- Assistant director, Mayo Clinic Center for Women's Health, 2021-present.
- Chair, Education Committee, North American Menopause Society, 2021-present.
- Associate chair, Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, 2020-present.
- Chair, Division of Women's Health Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic in Arizona, 2020-present.
- Board member, International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health (ISSWSH), 2019-present.
- Robert Greenblatt Award for best abstract in either basic science or clinical management for the abstract "Associations of pituitary-ovarian hormones and cognitive testing in recently menopausal women using hormone therapy," International Menopause Society, 2020.
- Best Paper Award for the article "Association of sleep disturbance and sexual function in postmenopausal women," Menopause, North American Menopause Society, 2018.