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Rebecca Shansky, associate professor of psychology, works in her lab in Nightingale Hall. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Why don’t drugs work as well for women? They’re tested on male mice.

Many pharmaceutical drugs don’t work as well for women as for men— and women are more often misdiagnosed for strokes and ADHD. Rebecca M. Shansky, associate professor of psychology at Northeastern, says the root of problem lies with research—and the fact that many scientists have only used male mice in their studies.

by Allie Nicodemo - contributor March 8, 2021

Of mice and women

Victorian-era stereotypes that were originally used to keep women out of leadership positions are still with us today, says Rebecca Shansky, an associate professor of…

by Adam Fischer and Benjamin Bertsch July 23, 2019

Illustration by Hannah Moore/Northeastern University

Most biomedical research is done on male animals. That’s a public health problem.

Stress-related illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder occur twice as frequently in women as they do in men, says Northeastern researcher Rebecca Shansky. But most of the research for treatments has been done on male animals, which means they might not work on women.

by Laura Castañón May 30, 2019

Why don’t drugs work as well for women? They’re tested on male mice.

Of mice and women

Most biomedical research is done on male animals. That’s a public health problem.

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