hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic

[00:00:00] Dr. Piraye Beim: But it turns out the ovary is a metabolic organ, it's an immune organ, it's an endocrine organ. [00:00:05] It signals to virtually every other cell, every other tissue in the body, and it's [00:00:10] also a very complicated organ itself. It's a very complicated tissue, and it's one that we're [00:00:15] just now starting to understand.
[00:00:16] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so our ovarian function is not aligned with the [00:00:20] modern human lifespan.
[00:00:21] Dr. Taz: Right. You've made me not feel insane. Yeah. I don't know how many times I've had these [00:00:25] conversations. It's not
[00:00:25] Dr. Piraye Beim: all in your
[00:00:26] Dr. Taz: head. I know. It's like, I feel so validated right now, so thank you. [00:00:30] Awesome. There's not a day that goes by in practice where I don't sit with a woman who is [00:00:35] either struggling to get pregnant, not clear on why she went into an early [00:00:40] perimenopause or menopause, or just feels pressured, quite honestly, to hurry up and have a [00:00:45] child because her eggs are gonna run out or her time is up.
[00:00:48] Dr. Taz: And oftentimes, that [00:00:50] haste leads to waste and really wrong decisions. That's why I wanted to bring on my [00:00:55] next guest. I want you guys to meet Dr. Beim. She is rethinking reproductive [00:01:00] health, fertility, early menopause, premature menopause, perimenopause, all the things, [00:01:05] because she's talking about ovarian health and how we that advocate [00:01:10] for women's health really need to be talking more about the field of ovarian health, and what we [00:01:15] can and cannot do to protect our ovaries and to really innovate our [00:01:20] ovaries so they're working for us, not against us.
[00:01:22] Dr. Taz: Maybe even extending the timeline [00:01:25] so that we are no longer in a rush to have children. Let me tell you a little bit about Dr. [00:01:30] Beim. She is an avid researcher. She's a biologist. She's been in women's health [00:01:35] for over 20 years, and she's done a lot of PhD work innovating precision [00:01:40] medicine for different areas of women's health.
[00:01:42] Dr. Taz: She founded her company, CellMedics, [00:01:45] as an opportunity to really focus on reproduction and reproductive equity [00:01:50] for women, including novel drugs that extend ovarian age [00:01:55] and actually help decrease the need for things like assisted reproductive [00:02:00] technology. She's been a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
[00:02:03] Dr. Taz: She was named to [00:02:05] Crain's 40 Under 40. She's a notable woman in tech according to Goldman Sachs, and [00:02:10] she's a top 15 founder in Fortune, and she is Rock Health's [00:02:15] disruptive founder of the year. I'm pleased, honored, thrilled to welcome Dr. [00:02:20] Beim to the show to help us understand ovarian health and what the future of [00:02:25] reproduction, perimenopause, and menopause is going to look like.
[00:02:29] Dr. Taz: Dr. [00:02:30] Beim, thrilled to have you on the show. You have been an advocate, a [00:02:35] champion of this whole idea around ovarian health [00:02:40] separate but under the category of women's health. And I'm [00:02:45] fascinated by that because, you know, with the work that I do, we do take that into account, but we [00:02:50] think of it more, to be 100% honestly, in terms of, like, data and numbers and [00:02:55] hormone levels and estrogen and testosterone and all this business.
[00:02:58] Dr. Taz: So talk to us a little [00:03:00] bit about ovarian health and what that means to you and why you think it needs to be [00:03:05] its own category.
[00:03:06] Dr. Piraye Beim: So thanks for having me on today. I'm excited to have this [00:03:10] conversation. Um, my background is as a biologist, so I'm a PhD [00:03:15] biologist and, um, one who specialized in medical science for [00:03:20] many years.
[00:03:21] Dr. Piraye Beim: And about 15 years ago, I started [00:03:25] my journey with Cellmatics, which is my company that I founded and I run today as CEO. [00:03:30] Um, but I've been innovating in women's health for over 20 years as a scientist. [00:03:35] And when I founded Cellmatics, we had a very [00:03:40] straightforward question, which was actually quite radical, which is we know that women have different body parts.
[00:03:44] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:03:44] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:03:45] We know that we have different chromosomes in our DNA and genes- Mm-hmm ... that underlie those different body parts, [00:03:50] but what does it really mean to be female biologically on a cellular level [00:03:55] that helps us understand why women get certain diseases that men don't get or are [00:04:00] disproportionately protected from certain diseases or disproportionately impacted by certain [00:04:05] diseases so...
[00:04:05] Dr. Taz: So what led you even to that question? Like, when we talk about what does it mean to be [00:04:10] female, right- Yeah ... you're opening up a whole can of worms right there.
[00:04:12] Dr. Piraye Beim: Oh, sure. And I don't mean- Like, you know. ... I don't mean
[00:04:14] Dr. Taz: the
[00:04:14] Dr. Piraye Beim: gender [00:04:15] lens. Right, exactly. I don't mean, uh- But- ... I'm really just looking at it as a pure cell biologist and what's- So what does that mean to a [00:04:20] cell to be female?
[00:04:21] Dr. Taz: So tell us about that. Like, what, what does it mean to be [00:04:25] a female cell? Like, what does that, what does that mean? I actually have never thought of, thought of [00:04:30] cells that way. So this is new for me, too. But go ahead. Tell me what that means.
[00:04:33] Dr. Piraye Beim: Well, you're not alone 'cause the [00:04:35] pharmaceutical industry has been treating us as male cells.
[00:04:39] Dr. Piraye Beim: Fascinating. As [00:04:40] kind of tiny males.
[00:04:41] Dr. Taz: Yeah.
[00:04:41] Dr. Piraye Beim: But the reality is that we have different [00:04:45] cells that are biologically different, and that underlies why we get certain conditions [00:04:50] and, and, you know, are protected from others. And so we set out to try to understand that. [00:04:55] And, and what I will say to summarize 15 years of, [00:05:00] um, you know, tens of millions- Yeah
[00:05:01] Dr. Piraye Beim: of dollars of research and, and AI and analysis [00:05:05] is that the loudest signal that came out of it was the ovary.
[00:05:09] Dr. Taz: Hmm. [00:05:10]
[00:05:10] Dr. Piraye Beim: Which makes sense because it is the organ that- [00:05:15] determines our sex at birth. So it is a gonad. [00:05:20] I had this conversation with someone the other day, and they said, "Wait. Ovaries are gonads?" And I said, "Yeah."
[00:05:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: Ovaries are gonads, yeah. They are gonads. Testes
[00:05:24] Dr. Taz: are not [00:05:25]
[00:05:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: the only gonads.
[00:05:28] Dr. Taz: Yes.
[00:05:28] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so, [00:05:30] um, so it, it was surprising and yet also makes sense that the, at [00:05:35] the end of the day, when we, when we think about the unique biology that, [00:05:40] um, really determines so much of our health and wellness, um, the ovaries, it turns [00:05:45] out, sit at the center of that.
[00:05:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: And, and this was a, a radical mind shift for [00:05:50] me because I was trained as a reproductive biologist. Right. And that's [00:05:55] how I self-identified. I saw menopause as, um, a natural phenomenon. [00:06:00] Right. One that gives us grandmothers. That's a positive adaptation. That's, you know, a special thing [00:06:05] humans get to do. Um, I saw the ovary...
[00:06:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: Uh, it, it's named [00:06:10] as the home of the egg. Right. So ovary means home of the oocyte- Yes ... or ovum.
[00:06:14] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:06:14] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, I [00:06:15] always saw it as that. I saw the ovary as just this kind of structural thing that houses these [00:06:20] magical cells, the eggs. And yet, when we took a step back and we really tried to understand, [00:06:25] let's call it female biology, and we're gonna go in the biology zone right now 'cause I understand that these are, you [00:06:30] know, difficult topics to navigate for, for a, a variety of reasons.
[00:06:33] Dr. Piraye Beim: But they're, they're
[00:06:34] Dr. Taz: difficult, [00:06:35] and there's a lot of bigger words with them and all that other stuff, but they're really important.
[00:06:38] Dr. Piraye Beim: It-
[00:06:39] Dr. Taz: Because I think- We have to talk [00:06:40] about it ... women are struggling, right? Yes. They're really struggling. Yes. And I could share a million [00:06:45] stories about women who feel like they have to hurry up and get married or hurry up and do IVF or [00:06:50] hurry up and do all these different things-
[00:06:51] Dr. Taz: Yeah
[00:06:51] Dr. Taz: because they're on this timeline.
[00:06:53] Dr. Taz: Yeah.
[00:06:54] Dr. Taz: And their [00:06:55] time's up, you know? Yes. And that kind of translates into the same conversation around perimenopause and [00:07:00] menopause. The ovary in some way, to be honest, is defining our sort of identity [00:07:05] as women, right? Yeah. 'Cause when ovarian function goes down- Yeah ... then we enter [00:07:10] perimenopause and menopause, and then we're struggling with, you know, kind of all these different feelings around that.
[00:07:14] Dr. Taz: So this is, [00:07:15] this is important. You know, even though it's biology and technical, I hope, I'm [00:07:20] hoping everybody watching and listening will pay attention for just a second so that they can kind of follow through [00:07:25] the impact of some of this when it comes to even our mental health and just how we [00:07:30] present the world.
[00:07:31] Dr. Piraye Beim: I think that's right, and, and I think you're pointing out a really important distinction, and, and [00:07:35] it's, it's something that I'm still struggling to fully articulate. But it's not that [00:07:40] when you don't have an ovary you're not female anymore. Right. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that [00:07:45] when we think of female biology, meaning the biology that disproportionately [00:07:50] impacts women who are born with ovaries in a certain way- The, [00:07:55] the reality is that you cannot take the ovary out of the story.
[00:07:57] Dr. Piraye Beim: Mm-hmm. And so as a biologist who's trying to understand [00:08:00] what makes our bodies unique so that we can then create purpose-built [00:08:05] solutions for women, pharmaceutical or otherwise- Right ... it could be lifestyle interventions- Right ... it could be [00:08:10] supplements. I, I'm, I'm just saying in general, when we're trying to give women the protocols, the [00:08:15] tools, the, the recommendations, and personalize it for them- What, the [00:08:20] biggest signal that came out of the research that we did over a decade was you can't take the ovary out of the story.[00:08:25]
[00:08:25] Dr. Piraye Beim: Most people associate ovaries with babies.
[00:08:28] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:08:28] Dr. Piraye Beim: And they're clearly very important- Mm-hmm ... [00:08:30] because they are a reproductive organ also. But it turns out the ovary is a metabolic [00:08:35] organ, it's an immune organ, it's an endocrine organ. It, it signals [00:08:40] to virtually every other cell, every other tissue in the body, and [00:08:45] it's also a very complicated organ itself.
[00:08:47] Dr. Piraye Beim: So it's not that it's just this like, um, you [00:08:50] know, home of the egg.
[00:08:51] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:08:51] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's a very complicated tissue, and it's one that we're [00:08:55] just now starting to understand. So getting to your original question about ovarian [00:09:00] health-
[00:09:00] Dr. Taz: Yeah ...
[00:09:01] Dr. Piraye Beim: as an innovator in the space, I was struggling to explain, in [00:09:05] particular to investors, what it was that we were doing and why.
[00:09:07] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:09:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: And I was finding that I was having to [00:09:10] spend half of my investor pitch as an entrepreneur showing anatomical [00:09:15] images to investors, male or female-
[00:09:17] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm ...
[00:09:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: and educating them. It was also often the females that [00:09:20] I'd spend more time with on this topic, because they were fascinated to learn more- Right
[00:09:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: about their bodies. Um, but we'd [00:09:25] have to say, "This is the ovary. It's a complicated organ. It, it has an egg in it, [00:09:30] but it does a lot more than that." Right. And, um, and so at some point we said, [00:09:35] if we look at the evolution of FemTech, once that term was [00:09:40] defined, suddenly the field took off, because then you could identify as a [00:09:45] FemTech entrepreneur, you're a FemTech company- Mm.
[00:09:47] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's a FemTech product. Mm-hmm. You're a FemTech investor. You're a [00:09:50] FemTech fund. And we realized that women's health encompasses so many different categories, [00:09:55] that when you self-identify as an entrepreneur and you're saying, "I'm doing women's health," within [00:10:00] pharma, within drug development- Yeah ... what that meant to everybody was like, "Okay, well, [00:10:05] what are you doing with estrogen?"
[00:10:07] Dr. Piraye Beim: Because that's basically been the playbook. That's all we
[00:10:08] Dr. Taz: hear about, right?
[00:10:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's all we hear about. Yeah, exactly. [00:10:10] And estrogen is one of the important gonadal hormones. I'm calling it a gonadal [00:10:15] hormone because we know-
[00:10:15] Dr. Taz: Not an ovarian hormone.
[00:10:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's not an ovarian hormone. Yeah. It's a gonadal. Testes make it, too.[00:10:20]
[00:10:20] Dr. Piraye Beim: Post-menopausally, women have less estrogen than men.
[00:10:23] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:10:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: So I, I [00:10:25] know I'm preaching to the choir with you, but for your audience, um, estrogen is an important [00:10:30] gonadal hormone, certainly important for the ovary, but it's the tip of the [00:10:35] iceberg. Right. Estrogen, testosterone, um, progesterone, these are the tip of the iceberg [00:10:40] of the factors that are produced by the ovary.
[00:10:41] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so we had this aha moment and we said, "Wait, [00:10:45] if we define this novel category," and this was about six years ago, "if we define this novel category of [00:10:50] ovarian health and start identifying as we're an ovarian health company, we're innovating in ovarian health," [00:10:55] it does two things. One, it makes people stop and ask, "Well, what do you mean by ovarian health?"
[00:10:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:11:00] Mm-hmm. "Why aren't you just identifying as a reproductive health company or a women's health company?" And the second [00:11:05] thing it does is, in the name it implies that the ovary should be healthy.
[00:11:08] Dr. Taz: Right. [00:11:10] And I love that. And you mentioned that ovarian health is a metabolic endocrine immune [00:11:15] organ. Yeah. Do you mind just drawing some of those pathways for [00:11:20] us?
[00:11:20] Dr. Taz: Just so for- Sure ... people watching and listening, that kind of sinks in for a second [00:11:25] about why this is not just about estrogen and why it's not just about getting pregnant.
[00:11:29] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's right. [00:11:30] So, um, most people are aware that the ovaries are related to babies, and [00:11:35] increasingly people are becoming aware that it's an endocrine organ, so it's important for these hormones, [00:11:40] um, that are, um, in our bodies.
[00:11:42] Dr. Piraye Beim: What people don't understand is that, um, [00:11:45] the ovary is very important for things like immune function.
[00:11:47] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:11:48] Dr. Piraye Beim: So [00:11:50] inflammation is, is a buzzword today. We hear about inflammation, but there's local [00:11:55] inflammation and chronic inflammation, and the analogy that I like to make is to music. [00:12:00] So if you and I are having this conversation right now, if there was a [00:12:05] foghorn going on in the background, we wouldn't be able to hear ourselves.
[00:12:07] Dr. Piraye Beim: Be so distracted. Right?
[00:12:08] Dr. Taz: Right. Yeah.
[00:12:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: So, um, [00:12:10] ovulation, i- which is when the, a follicle, uh, bursts and an egg comes out, um, [00:12:15] ovulation is an inflammatory process. Mm-hmm. Menstruation, when you get your period, is an [00:12:20] inflammatory process. Implantation of an embryo into a uterus at [00:12:25] the beginning of a pregnancy being set up is an inflammatory process.
[00:12:28] Dr. Piraye Beim: These are [00:12:30] productive inflammatory processes that are necessary for certain functions in our [00:12:35] body. But then we have, we have peripheral inflammation, too. This is the [00:12:40] inflammatory mechanism that says, "Oh, we have a infection," for example. "Let's go to the site of [00:12:45] infection and, and, and let's, you know, neutralize this virus."
[00:12:49] Dr. Piraye Beim: A lot of [00:12:50] aspects of aging and also the modern lifestyle that many of us, um, [00:12:55] kind of, you know, um, have end up contributing to [00:13:00] those systemic inflammatory signals, and they never get resolved. When you have a infection, [00:13:05] you go, you have your systemic inflammation, you resolve the infection, you come back down to baseline.
[00:13:09] Dr. Piraye Beim: But a [00:13:10] lot of aspects of aging and also, um, the modern lifestyle mean that that systemic [00:13:15] inflammation never comes
[00:13:16] Dr. Taz: down. It's not
[00:13:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: coming down. And so what ends up happening is it ends up, [00:13:20] um, impacting ovarian function, but also when the ovary [00:13:25] is not signaling correctly, it can also promote an environment where you have chronic [00:13:30] inflammatory processes in your body.
[00:13:32] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so this is why women become generally more inflamed. We [00:13:35] know inflammation's related to weight gain.
[00:13:36] Dr. Taz: Yeah.
[00:13:37] Dr. Piraye Beim: We know it's related to mental health issues. It's related to [00:13:40] cancer risk, generally to aging in an unhealthy way. Chronic inflammation is, like, a big [00:13:45] red flag. So the ovary is both impacted by inflammation, but also can impact [00:13:50] inflammation.
[00:13:50] Dr. Piraye Beim: We know that ovarian hormones impact inflammation. Right. So [00:13:55] this, this, um... During COVID, one of my favorite examples, so polycystic [00:14:00] ovary syndrome- Oh, yeah ... is, yeah.
[00:14:01] Dr. Taz: I
[00:14:01] Dr. Piraye Beim: have it. Is that I, I've dealt with cystic ovaries- [00:14:05] Yeah ... uh, throughout my life as well. So, um, PCOS, which impacts about 15% of [00:14:10] all women, we have no disease altering treatments for it right now.
[00:14:14] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, [00:14:15] PCOS during COVID was an equivalent risk factor to having [00:14:20] diabetes.
[00:14:20] Dr. Taz: We didn't talk about
[00:14:21] Dr. Piraye Beim: that. For having... Nobody talked about it. It's an ovarian health issue [00:14:25] that created as much risk for women of having a really [00:14:30] serious effect of, of having COVID as diabetes, and yet women with PCOS were not treated as high [00:14:35] risk because we don't think about the ovary's role in the immune system.
[00:14:39] Dr. Piraye Beim: So [00:14:40] that's really important, and the metabolism is one of my favorites. That's
[00:14:42] Dr. Taz: huge. Yeah.
[00:14:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's huge.
[00:14:43] Dr. Taz: Talk to us about that. [00:14:45]
[00:14:45] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah. So, um, so the ovary is in [00:14:50] constant conversation with our metabolism, and you think about from an evolutionary standpoint, it makes [00:14:55] sense. The ovary's the ultimate sensor. It checks in with the environment [00:15:00] and it says, um, are we stressed out?
[00:15:02] Dr. Piraye Beim: Are we running from a tiger? Is it wartime? [00:15:05]
[00:15:05] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:15:05] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, is this a safe time to bring forth [00:15:10] our reproductive potential. Is this famine time? Is this winter? Is this [00:15:15] summer? There are a number of signals, for example, um, [00:15:20] light. There are mammals that are seasonal breeders, meaning just the small changes [00:15:25] of light that happen in the winter completely shut their ovarian function down.
[00:15:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: Hmm. They cannot get pregnant in the winter-
[00:15:29] Dr. Taz: Hmm ...
[00:15:29] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:15:30] just by sensing that the light has changed.
[00:15:32] Dr. Taz: Wow.
[00:15:33] Dr. Piraye Beim: So we are not seasonal breeders, but it doesn't [00:15:35] mean we're completely not impacted by light either. And so when you think about [00:15:40] metabolic inputs, your diet, and whether there's food and whether there's nutritious [00:15:45] food available to support the development of a pregnancy, it's not [00:15:50] surprising that it turns out that the ovary is this really beautiful detector of how [00:15:55] we're doing on the nutritional front.
[00:15:56] Dr. Piraye Beim: But what that also means is it's gonna impact your, um, [00:16:00] your, uh, reproductive outcome, it's gonna impact your ovarian function. And so people don't [00:16:05] think about their diet impacting their ovarian function, or their declining or dysregulated [00:16:10] ovarian function impacting their weight gain, their metabolism. Hmm.
[00:16:14] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, [00:16:15] I, I could get... I, I could science it and get into the insulin signaling and things like that. Right. Right. But, um, there's [00:16:20] a reason why women find it harder to lose weight after a certain age.
[00:16:24] Dr. Taz: Let's answer that for [00:16:25] women. Yeah. 'Cause it's probably the number one question I get. Um, you know, and maybe [00:16:30] a couple of science facts around that.
[00:16:32] Dr. Taz: Like, you know, what exactly is happening? You know, we know [00:16:35] that estrogen's going down. We know progesterone's going down. What happens next?
[00:16:39] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:16:40] Yeah. So, um, it's not just estrogen and progesterone. Those are important for metabolism, but there are [00:16:45] actually dozens of factors that have already been identified, and probably hundreds more because [00:16:50] we haven't really looked for them all, that directly impact insulin signaling.
[00:16:54] Dr. Taz: Hmm.
[00:16:54] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:16:55] So it's not even indirect through estrogen, it's actually, um, insulin growth [00:17:00] factor. There's a number of, um, factors that are, um, either produced by the [00:17:05] developing follicles, which are the cells that wrap around the egg. They're the cells... The follicle cells are the ones [00:17:10] that do all the magic, and then the egg is in the middle.
[00:17:13] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, so those actually directly [00:17:15] signal with all of the, um, you know, with your liver- Yeah ... with other aspects of your body, with your [00:17:20] muscle. Um, this is why, for example, bringing it back to PCOS or to perimenopause- Right ... [00:17:25] um, when you put on muscle mass, when you have better metabolic function in your muscles, [00:17:30] for some women it can impact their ovarian function.
[00:17:33] Dr. Piraye Beim: The, um, Ozempic. [00:17:35] Yeah. So-
[00:17:35] Dr. Taz: The GLP-1s,
[00:17:36] Dr. Piraye Beim: yeah ... a number of women have found that when they lose weight and they're on the [00:17:40] Ozempic, they start ovulating again. Mm-hmm. And these are women who haven't ovulated [00:17:45] regularly in years, maybe since puberty. Um, that's because that impact that the [00:17:50] GLP-1s are having, uh, the Ozempic-type drugs are having on the metabolism, are [00:17:55] signaling directly back to the ovary.
[00:17:56] Dr. Piraye Beim: But remember, if there's something that can impact ovarian function, [00:18:00] it means the ovary's also impacting that function.
[00:18:02] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:18:03] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so that's why when you [00:18:05] have an ovarian disorder like- PCOS- Right ... polycystic ovary syndrome, or [00:18:10] you're in perimenopause and your ovarian functions are starting to shut down, or you're in full [00:18:15] menopause and most of your ovarian function has been depleted and is gone, [00:18:20] not only are the signals not getting to a functioning organ, but they're not answering back.
[00:18:24] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:18:24] Dr. Piraye Beim: And [00:18:25] so that beautiful symphony, bringing it back to the musical analogy, that beautiful [00:18:30] symphony is, is, is leaving the, the biological, um, kind of system that your [00:18:35] body has developed in and functioned under. And this happens with men too. [00:18:40] They have decline in testicular function- Right ... throughout their lifespan, but it's slow and [00:18:45] steady.
[00:18:45] Dr. Taz: More subtle too,
[00:18:45] Dr. Piraye Beim: I think. It's more subtle.
[00:18:46] Dr. Taz: Yeah.
[00:18:47] Dr. Piraye Beim: Whereas with women, and, and there's [00:18:50] biological reasons for this, but we have linear decline in our ovarian function [00:18:55] throughout our, our, um, early life. But then in what is now midlife, because [00:19:00] we live until our, you know, uh, 70s, 80s, you actually have a, not quite exponential, [00:19:05] but a more than linear decline.
[00:19:06] Dr. Piraye Beim: So you have this rapid... You know when they talk about falling off a cliff?
[00:19:09] Dr. Taz: Yeah. [00:19:10] Yeah.
[00:19:10] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's a horrible analogy because I, I, I think it, it feels so scary for people, but it [00:19:15] actually looks like a cliff. Oh, wow. If you look at how ovarian function declines, it accelerates. [00:19:20] And we see that women who have a smoother line and go into menopause more [00:19:25] slowly and a little later don't struggle with perimenopausal symptoms as much, [00:19:30] not because their bodies aren't impacted, but because their bodies have time to adjust.
[00:19:34] Dr. Taz: Mm. [00:19:35]
[00:19:35] Dr. Piraye Beim: And this is really important, is that w- in biology, fast [00:19:40] change equals bad. This is why you wanna lose weight slowly. Slowly,
[00:19:43] Dr. Taz: right.
[00:19:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: You wanna shift your sleep [00:19:45] schedule slowly. You wanna do anything that impacts your gut microbiome slowly [00:19:50] because that's how you get lasting change, and that's how you avoid stress.
[00:19:53] Dr. Piraye Beim: All of these things are also a stressor on your [00:19:55] body. And so, um, men have the ability to adjust over time. [00:20:00] Women's bodies age like this. And so that really helps explain it. And, and that [00:20:05] gets back to my work in ovarian health, is that- A hundred years ago, [00:20:10] w-we were not, on average, surviving past that cliff.
[00:20:14] Dr. Taz: Right. [00:20:15] We're done.
[00:20:15] Dr. Piraye Beim: We were done.
[00:20:16] Dr. Taz: Yeah.
[00:20:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: And, um, now we [00:20:20] survive, not just past that cliff, we survive decades past that cliff. And so our [00:20:25] ovarian function is not aligned with the modern human lifespan.
[00:20:28] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:20:29] Dr. Piraye Beim: And [00:20:30] my passion and, and my work, uh, especially over the last, um, six years, has been [00:20:35] really trying to change the shape of that trajectory so we can align ovarian function with [00:20:40] our modern lifespan.
[00:20:41] Dr. Piraye Beim: Because we did so much to change our lifespan line, [00:20:45] right? We used to do this in our lifespan, now we do this. And the ovary is the one [00:20:50] organ that got left behind.
[00:20:51] Dr. Taz: So I'm assuming this is where Celmatix steps into the [00:20:55] conversation. Tell us about Celmatix. Tell us what's happening there. And as a woman who is [00:21:00] experiencing probably coming off that cliff, you know, uh, relatively soon I can [00:21:05] imagine, you know, what are our options, you know?
[00:21:07] Dr. Taz: Is there a way to reverse our ovarian age? Is there [00:21:10] a way to, you know, change things? And then what does that mean for our longevity and [00:21:15] for our overall health?
[00:21:16] Dr. Piraye Beim: So we see ovarian health as one of the [00:21:20] fundamental pillars, just like brain health, gut health, uh, metabolic health. [00:21:25] And there's, there's two answers to that question.
[00:21:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: One is, we don't have the [00:21:30] tools really to do that today, and that's what we're doing at Celmatix. We pioneered the category of ovarian health, [00:21:35] but we also pioneered this idea that we should be leveraging therapeutics- [00:21:40] Mm-hmm ... to intervene, and allow us to exogenously, meaning, [00:21:45] um, you know, outside of what's happening in the ovary, regulate the decline in ovarian [00:21:50] function.
[00:21:50] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:21:50] Dr. Piraye Beim: It turns out we're born with more function than we need, even in the modern lifespan. [00:21:55] So in theory, if we could regulate how we use our [00:22:00] ovarian function over our lifespan, our ovaries should align with the modern lifespan. And that's [00:22:05] because the ovary also thinks it's a reproductive organ in many ways.
[00:22:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: Mm-hmm. So it [00:22:10] indexes on trying to create the perfect egg every single menstrual cycle. [00:22:15] And so we've heard of the menstrual cycle, which is this approximately 28-day cycle.
[00:22:19] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:22:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:22:20] Um, but what people don't realize is there's a bigger cycle. It's the folliculogenesis cycle. So we have, [00:22:25] like, hair follicles, and our hair grows out of the hair follicles.
[00:22:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: So we have ovarian follicles, and the egg [00:22:30] grows inside those follicle cells. But those follicle cells, as I mentioned, are where a [00:22:35] lot of the other functions, the non-reproductive functions lie, and, [00:22:40] um, because they're, they're kind of intertwined, the fate of the egg is wrapped up in the [00:22:45] fate of the follicle.
[00:22:45] Dr. Piraye Beim: You can't have a follicle without an egg, and you can't have an egg without a follicle. So we're born with all the [00:22:50] pre-follicles and pre-eggs that we'll ever have, and they're already kind of preformed. They get signaled [00:22:55] to start growing, and then they grow. And then because we are not litter animals, [00:23:00] we don't have litters, we have typically one or maybe- Mm-hmm
[00:23:02] Dr. Piraye Beim: two per pregnancy, there's [00:23:05] this fierce competition that happens during that process of folliculogenesis. It's a [00:23:10] 300-day process- Hmm ... to get from a f- pre-follicle being activated to an [00:23:15] egg being ovulated. The menstrual cycle is a 27-day finish line of [00:23:20] what is actually a 300-day process.
[00:23:22] Dr. Taz: Fascinating.
[00:23:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: Every single therapeutic that [00:23:25] we have in women's health only impacts the last 30 days.
[00:23:28] Dr. Piraye Beim: We have nothing that can [00:23:30] impact the first 270.
[00:23:31] Dr. Taz: So how do you impact- ... the first 270 [00:23:35]
[00:23:35] Dr. Piraye Beim: days? You know? That's what we've been working on for- Okay, gotcha ... going on 16 years soon. [00:23:40] So first we had to understand what happens in that- Right ... first 270 days. Right. Um, [00:23:45] and so we, we identified, we and others, um, have identified that, um, one of the key [00:23:50] regulators of that process, that early process, um, is a hormone [00:23:55] called anti-Mullerian hormone.
[00:23:56] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:23:57] Dr. Piraye Beim: And anti-Mullerian hormone is a [00:24:00] fascinating hormone, um, in part because it was named for its role in [00:24:05] male fetal development. So the Müllerian system is the, [00:24:10] um, early cell system that gives rise to the female tract. Yeah. So, you know, [00:24:15] the fallopian tubes, the uterus, vagina, et cetera. And so in, uh, [00:24:20] early development, we have the parts that can turn into, you know, male [00:24:25] parts, and we have the parts that can turn into female parts.
[00:24:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: And you have these hormones that come on [00:24:30] kind of as the brakes and the accelerator in, in male fetuses to say, "Okay, [00:24:35] suppress the female system and turn on the male system."
[00:24:37] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:37] Dr. Piraye Beim: And then in female fetuses it's the [00:24:40] opposite. Suppress the male and turn on the female. And so it turns out that in male fetal development, very high [00:24:45] levels of anti-Müllerian hormone are the signal to put the brake on the development of the female [00:24:50] organs, and this is why men don't develop fallopian tubes and a vagina.
[00:24:54] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so, [00:24:55] um, back in the '80s when everybody was obsessed about defining who is a female and who is a male- [00:25:00] Right ... for the Olympics- Right ... for children who were born with undetermined sex at birth, someone had the clever [00:25:05] idea of, "Well, let's, let's find a test for anti-Müllerian hormone," 'cause it's literally the brake-
[00:25:09] Dr. Taz: [00:25:10] Right.
[00:25:10] Dr. Piraye Beim: Right ... to not be female.
[00:25:11] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:25:12] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so, um, so [00:25:15] they developed a blood test for anti-Müllerian hormone and were shocked to find that- AMH,
[00:25:18] Dr. Taz: right?
[00:25:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: AMH. [00:25:20] Everyone sta-
[00:25:20] Dr. Taz: Everybody- Stare at their labs.
[00:25:20] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah.
[00:25:21] Dr. Taz: It's the AMH.
[00:25:21] Dr. Piraye Beim: AMH. Um, many women listening have probably been tested for [00:25:25] AMH. So- The scientists were fascinated because all the women and [00:25:30] girls they tested tested positive for anti-Mullerian hormone.
[00:25:33] Dr. Piraye Beim: Mm-hmm. How is it possible that [00:25:35] a person walking around with a fully developed Mullerian system has anti- Has anti- ... Mullerian [00:25:40] hormone? So fast-forward, it turns out that [00:25:45] AMH is not only an ovarian hormone, it is the most [00:25:50] fundamental regulator of folliculogenesis.
[00:25:52] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:25:53] Dr. Piraye Beim: And it serves as the [00:25:55] brakes. It is what taps on the brakes to ensure that when at [00:26:00] puberty we start turning on our folliculogenesis in a big way to start, [00:26:05] you know, getting to an ovulated o- uh, egg or oocyte at the finish line, um, [00:26:10] that we don't do that too quickly.
[00:26:12] Dr. Taz: So is this why in PCOS in our [00:26:15] patients that we see AMH is high?
[00:26:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's right. That's right. '
[00:26:18] Dr. Taz: Cause the brakes are not working.
[00:26:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:26:20] That's right. And also in, um, diminished ovarian reserve we see the AMH is low-
[00:26:24] Dr. Taz: Right ...
[00:26:24] Dr. Piraye Beim: because [00:26:25] the brakes are not working on the other end.
[00:26:26] Dr. Taz: So it's again that sweet spot.
[00:26:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's right.
[00:26:28] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so, um, with a lot of [00:26:30] hormones, it's a U-shaped effect, so you don't want too much of it. You w- don't want too little- Right ... of it.
[00:26:34] Dr. Taz: Right. [00:26:35]
[00:26:35] Dr. Piraye Beim: And this is really important. So, um, so what we realize is, wait, this male, [00:26:40] the ultimate male hormone is actually the ultimate female hormone-
[00:26:43] Dr. Taz: Mm ...
[00:26:44] Dr. Piraye Beim: which is [00:26:45] very important, and-
[00:26:45] Dr. Taz: Always works out that way.
[00:26:46] Dr. Taz: Yeah. Just kidding.
[00:26:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: So we need a rebrand. I- We need
[00:26:49] Dr. Taz: a [00:26:50] serious rebrand.
[00:26:50] Dr. Piraye Beim: Totally. Yeah. So we need a rebrand. Um, but it turns out that [00:26:55] in, in the laboratory with, um, animal models, um, with, um, kind of [00:27:00] o- you know, ovarian tissue that you've, um, put into culture, you can actually [00:27:05] modulate the rate at which those pre follicles are recruited [00:27:10] and develop.
[00:27:11] Dr. Piraye Beim: And what we know is that, uh, to your point with PCOS, there are women who [00:27:15] have so many follicles that there's a traffic jam-
[00:27:17] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm,
[00:27:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: mm-hmm ... and it's kind of backed up.
[00:27:18] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:27:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: We have women [00:27:20] who, um, don't have the ability to kind of exert the brakes and, and they end up burning out [00:27:25] their, um, their follicles too early-
[00:27:27] Dr. Taz: Mm
[00:27:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: and experience early menopause and experience other [00:27:30] issues associated with that. And so what we found is that AMH, like many [00:27:35] hormones, um, you can modulate it reversibly. So you can put the [00:27:40] brakes on And I've seen
[00:27:40] Dr. Taz: that in practice, by the way.
[00:27:41] Dr. Piraye Beim: You have?
[00:27:41] Dr. Taz: Yes, because we'll have patients come in, you [00:27:45] know, with high AMH, a lot of the PCOS, endometriosis population.
[00:27:49] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:27:50] Yeah.
[00:27:50] Dr. Taz: Or we have patients come in with low AMH, and they've been told they have low ovarian reserve, and they can't [00:27:55] get pregnant.
[00:27:55] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah.
[00:27:55] Dr. Taz: And then we work on these patients, working on inflammation, oxidative [00:28:00] stress, gut, m- you know, the whole holistic approach, and the AMH [00:28:05] changes. And, you know, they were like, "Well, my doctors told me that the AMH can't change."
[00:28:09] Dr. Taz: And [00:28:10] I'm like, "I- ... I am promising you I've seen this number flip over- Yeah ... and over again. Yeah. So now [00:28:15] you're g- you're the first person-
[00:28:16] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah ...
[00:28:16] Dr. Taz: to give me some reasoning as to why, [00:28:20] you know, other than what I- Yeah ... kind of intuitively kn- knew and what I was seeing on my lab work.
[00:28:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah.
[00:28:23] Dr. Taz: Yeah.
[00:28:24] Dr. Piraye Beim: Well, the ovary [00:28:25] makes AMH.
[00:28:26] Dr. Piraye Beim: So as you change the ovary through these lifestyle, remember we talked about- Yeah ... [00:28:30] inflammation can impact it. Right. Sleep, diet. Light. As you're changing. Yeah. Light. As you're [00:28:35] changing the ovary, you are changing AMH. Wow. So it's not easy to modulate it, but you can modulate it. [00:28:40] And, um, and so we want to use the- You've made me not
[00:28:43] Dr. Taz: feel insane.
[00:28:43] Dr. Taz: Yeah. I don't know how many times [00:28:45] I've had these conversations. It's
[00:28:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: not all in your head.
[00:28:46] Dr. Taz: I know. It's like I am telling you these [00:28:50] AMH levels change, and everyone's like, "That's not possible." So I feel so validated right now, so thank [00:28:55] you.
[00:28:55] Dr. Piraye Beim: Awesome. But anyhow. Awesome. So that's what we're trying to do from a therapeutic standpoint, is we're [00:29:00] trying to create a drug that mimics AMH.
[00:29:04] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:04] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:29:05] Because unlike estrogen and progesterone and testosterone, you can't synthesize [00:29:10] AMH in a lab. Right. It's a huge molecule. It's a very, very large molecule. [00:29:15] Um, and you also can't grow it in a Petri dish, which you can do with, like for example, [00:29:20] injectable fertility drugs. Right. Those are also very large molecules, but you can make them in cell systems.
[00:29:24] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:29:25] AMH, we won't get into it, but let's just say because it is such a master regulator, it was... I- [00:29:30] it has evolved, the hormone itself has evolved to not want to be at very high levels in [00:29:35] your bloodstream because it is so potent.
[00:29:36] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:29:37] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so the challenge, and we actually [00:29:40] super proud, we were the only company to be chosen for a SPARC award as part of the Women's Health [00:29:45] Initiative- Amazing
[00:29:45] Dr. Piraye Beim: Biden administration. Yeah. Um, uh, directed ARPA-H, this [00:29:50] incredible new, um, innovation engine within the US government for health, uh, [00:29:55] innovation to, um, to help accelerate a- at warp [00:30:00] speed, uh, women's health. And so we were selected for our AMH therapeutic program [00:30:05] to develop a drug that can be produced and, and, and, you know, [00:30:10] um, made as a drug, but that mimics the action of AMH- Mm
[00:30:13] Dr. Piraye Beim: so that we can start to [00:30:15] modulate it. And the idea is that we don't want it to be the lottery. Like, my body can [00:30:20] regulate my ovary effectively or it can't.
[00:30:22] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:30:22] Dr. Piraye Beim: We actually want to democratize, we want to give [00:30:25] access to women to all be able to regulate their ovary in the way that is best for their [00:30:30] lifespan and their longevity, and it's gonna mean a lot of things.
[00:30:33] Dr. Piraye Beim: So I mean, we could talk about this for [00:30:35] hours, but a couple of things, 'cause a couple of common fears that people have when they hear that we're gonna do this. So, [00:30:40] well, um, you know, what's gonna happen if I don't have all those follicles? For [00:30:45] women with PCOS, we predict it's gonna be awesome for them.
[00:30:48] Dr. Piraye Beim: They're gonna have a normally [00:30:50] functioning ovary-
[00:30:50] Dr. Taz: Right ...
[00:30:51] Dr. Piraye Beim: because they're not gonna have this follicle traffic jam where none of the [00:30:55] follicles can break free and get to that,
[00:30:57] Dr. Taz: and- And would it extend our ovarian age?
[00:30:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's the [00:31:00] hope.
[00:31:00] Dr. Taz: Okay.
[00:31:00] Dr. Piraye Beim: That is the hope.
[00:31:01] Dr. Taz: Because you don't have the traffic jam, and so you're not burning out the ovary.
[00:31:04] Dr. Piraye Beim: And you're [00:31:05] not- Yeah ... prematurely.
[00:31:06] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:31:06] Dr. Piraye Beim: So, you know, there's a lot of variation whether [00:31:10] some women recruit a few follicles a day, some women recruit hundreds of follicles a day, [00:31:15] and there's no way to modulate that right now. And so what's nice is that just like the birth control [00:31:20] pill and being able to use estrogen and progesterone can give most women a 28-day cycle that's [00:31:25] predictable, less pain with their periods, um, and that's something [00:31:30] that we can regulate with drugs.
[00:31:31] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:31:32] Dr. Piraye Beim: We want to give everyone a nice folliculogenesis [00:31:35] cycle, too. So we want to personalize folliculogenesis so that we're only [00:31:40] pulling how many follicles we need out of storage- Mm ... day over day-
[00:31:43] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm ...
[00:31:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: for our health. [00:31:45] What that means is we're not gonna make the perfect egg every month. But the reality is most women don't [00:31:50] need a perfect egg every month.
[00:31:51] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:31:51] Dr. Piraye Beim: What they need- That's a lot
[00:31:52] Dr. Taz: of kids.
[00:31:53] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yes.
[00:31:53] Dr. Taz: So...
[00:31:54] Dr. Piraye Beim: We're already [00:31:55] taking contraceptives or taking- Right ... measures to avoid- Right ... getting pregnant. So for women, what this means is [00:32:00] fewer periods-
[00:32:01] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm ...
[00:32:02] Dr. Piraye Beim: from a frequency standpoint, but spaced [00:32:05] out longer throughout their lifespan. Which actually mimics [00:32:10] natural biology better, because the way that we live right now is, is [00:32:15] not natural.
[00:32:15] Dr. Taz: Right. We were meant to have
[00:32:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: children. We weren't meant to have this many periods. Yeah,
[00:32:19] Dr. Taz: yeah.
[00:32:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:32:20] We would get pregnant, we would have extended periods of breastfeeding, which suppresses [00:32:25] those hormones. So taking AMH over a lifespan, this is all what we're aiming [00:32:30] towards. Right. This hasn't been tested, obviously.
[00:32:31] Dr. Piraye Beim: Right. We're still developing this. But the theory at least that [00:32:35] we're going after is that if we could, if we could modulate ovarian [00:32:40] folliculogenesis by having a drug that mimics the action of AMH, then we could get to that personalized [00:32:45] sweet spot for each woman so that she has the optimal ovarian health for decades [00:32:50] longer than she has right now.
[00:32:51] Dr. Piraye Beim: Because a lot of women say, like, "Well, I mean, yeah, I [00:32:55] have all these perimenopausal symptoms," or, "I have osteopenia or osteoporosis or heart disease or all these things, [00:33:00] but, like, thank God I don't have PMS anymore. Thank God I don't have to deal with these heavy- Mm-hmm ... [00:33:05] frustrating periods." Periods,
[00:33:06] Dr. Taz: right.
[00:33:06] Dr. Piraye Beim: And mood swings and all these things.
[00:33:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: But the point is that I'm not saying [00:33:10] let's take all the awful ovarian biology you've had to live through and make [00:33:15] you live through it forever. That's not what I'm saying. I'm actually saying, let's give you optimal [00:33:20] ovarian health and then have that extend for decades longer than it does right now. It's [00:33:25] a complete rewrite of how we think about women's health and women's bodies.
[00:33:29] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:33:30] And, um, I think about my daughter, who's seven right now. Mm-hmm. And she asks me, you know, all the time, "Mommy, are your [00:33:35] medicines gonna be ready in time for me?" Aw. And
[00:33:37] Dr. Taz: it's- I love that.
[00:33:38] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's so sweet, and it's [00:33:40] also tough, you know, because it takes 10 years. Yeah. You know? Yeah. And I do the math of, [00:33:45] like, well, you're gonna get your first period- Right
[00:33:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: God willing- Yeah ... in, you know, seven years. And, um, but I, [00:33:50] I really truly believe that, um, my daughter, her [00:33:55] generation, um... You know, I think the technology we're developing is gonna impact women who are [00:34:00] probably in their late 20s right now, maybe early 30s, we'll have it ready in time. But really [00:34:05] for women who are in their early 30s and younger, they're gonna look back on this, [00:34:10] let's call it century of human history-
[00:34:11] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm
[00:34:12] Dr. Piraye Beim: where we extended the human lifespan [00:34:15] but not the ovarian lifespan. We didn't figure out how to modulate ovarian function, [00:34:20] but we added contraception to the mix so women just had period after period after period. [00:34:25] And they're gonna look back on this, on this kind of microcosm of the century w- before we [00:34:30] figured it all out, and just be baffled as to how we [00:34:35] all thought this was okay-
[00:34:36] Dr. Taz: Yeah
[00:34:36] Dr. Piraye Beim: for us to all feel this way during our prime years, and [00:34:40] then to not thrive necessarily physically in certain ways after what is [00:34:45] now midlife. Because I think for women of my daughter's generation, they're gonna [00:34:50] have much better functioning ovaries. A lot of these things like PCOS, [00:34:55] endometriosis, PMS, these are gonna be anachronisms.
[00:34:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: This is gonna be something that [00:35:00] happened to women last century and that we just accepted. Um, and I also [00:35:05] think that they're gonna be shocked that we just went into menopause, didn't do anything about it, and also that we did [00:35:10] nothing to optimize our ovarian health.
[00:35:11] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:35:12] Dr. Piraye Beim: I think about, like, these stories about, [00:35:15] you know, figures from the past, um, George Washington, you know, with
[00:35:19] Dr. Taz: Yeah
[00:35:19] Dr. Taz: his,
[00:35:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: like-
[00:35:19] Dr. Taz: Yeah, [00:35:20] yeah ...
[00:35:20] Dr. Piraye Beim: his teeth, you know, or people who had wooden teeth, and it w- it, it's just [00:35:25] we cannot relate to a world in which we didn't care for our oral hygiene. Right. That we didn't go to [00:35:30] the dentist. Right. We didn't optimize the function of our teeth. If we lived our lives [00:35:35] vis-a-vis our oral hygiene like we used to, our teeth would fall out in midlife.
[00:35:39] Dr. Taz: Right. [00:35:40]
[00:35:40] Dr. Piraye Beim: But now they extend well and we've aligned the longevity of our teeth. We
[00:35:44] Dr. Taz: [00:35:45] need to do the same for the ovaries.
[00:35:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah, the ovary w- Yeah ... and, and we could keep saying this over and over again, we [00:35:50] know what we need to do to keep our brains healthy. We know what we need to do to keep our teeth healthy, [00:35:55] our bones healthy.
[00:35:56] Dr. Piraye Beim: Most people don't know what they need to do to keep their ovaries healthy.
[00:35:59] Dr. Taz: [00:36:00] So, you know, is there anything women listening today can do right now [00:36:05] to optimize their ovarian health? While we're waiting for these drugs of the future, right? Yeah. That [00:36:10] are gonna hopefully help us to even out the lifespan of our ovary.
[00:36:13] Dr. Taz: You know, what could they do today? [00:36:15]
[00:36:15] Dr. Piraye Beim: So a number of things. Um, so I have a, um, a, I have an [00:36:20] Instagram page now, Boss Ovary. Boss Ovary. Let's check it out.
[00:36:23] Dr. Taz: Everyone go there. [00:36:25]
[00:36:25] Dr. Piraye Beim: This is not my comfort zone. Yeah. I am very much a-
[00:36:27] Dr. Taz: It's all
[00:36:28] Dr. Piraye Beim: right. ... the lab is my happy place. Yeah. [00:36:30] Um, but I, I am trying to, to get the word out because there are things that you can do, and I'm trying to [00:36:35] put more and more content- Right
[00:36:36] Dr. Piraye Beim: um, to help women understand. These are things that I've started to do for myself as well, and [00:36:40] I've found that my ovarian aging has, at least anecdotally for me, my AMH levels have barely [00:36:45] changed over the last five years, which has been awesome.
[00:36:47] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:36:47] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, and, um, [00:36:50] so- Um, so a couple of things. One is that you [00:36:55] can avoid the things that will shorten the lifespan you already have for your ovaries.
[00:36:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: So [00:37:00] everybody has a hardwired lifespan based on, [00:37:05] uh, ovarian lifespan based on how many follicles they're born with at birth, [00:37:10] and their, their intrinsic genetics of how that ovarian timer... [00:37:15] People talk about the biological clock- Right ... but it's more of a timer.
[00:37:17] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:37:18] Dr. Piraye Beim: So it's kind of a, a countdown. And [00:37:20] so everybody has, let's say, the optimal, uh, [00:37:25] longevity that their organ can have based on their, their genetics and, and what they were born with.[00:37:30]
[00:37:30] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so what we can do is we can avoid the things that take from that. Decrease [00:37:35] that. That decrease that.
[00:37:35] Dr. Taz: It's that Chinese medicine concept of, you know, here's the chi you're gifted with. Yeah. It's [00:37:40] your job now, grow it or deplete it, you know? That's
[00:37:42] Dr. Piraye Beim: right.
[00:37:43] Dr. Taz: So.
[00:37:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: So I think there are things that [00:37:45] definitively have been demonstrated to deplete it.
[00:37:48] Dr. Piraye Beim: So one is smoking.
[00:37:49] Dr. Taz: [00:37:50] Mm-hmm. Big
[00:37:50] Dr. Piraye Beim: one. One is smoking. That also means exposure to [00:37:55] environmental toxins that are like smoke So a simple thing that I've [00:38:00] incorporated into my household, which also benefits my whole household, not just my [00:38:05] ovaries, is just a very high quality air purifier.
[00:38:07] Dr. Taz: Yes.
[00:38:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: Especially with global warming- Right
[00:38:09] Dr. Piraye Beim: we have [00:38:10] these moments where- It's gonna happen more ... air quality-
[00:38:11] Dr. Taz: Yeah ...
[00:38:11] Dr. Piraye Beim: um, you know, is, is not just in places like China where we hear about [00:38:15] this. In the US as well periodically we have real air quality issues. Getting a very high quality, [00:38:20] uh, air purifier, really controlling that, your indoor air quality.
[00:38:24] Dr. Piraye Beim: Sometimes [00:38:25] just, um... Like, I try to open my windows-
[00:38:27] Dr. Taz: Yeah ...
[00:38:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: a couple minutes every day. So I think keeping [00:38:30] track of, um, the air that you are breathing, including avoiding things like smoking, is super important. [00:38:35] Um, the other thing is that diet, [00:38:40] lifestyle factors related to inflammation are important.
[00:38:42] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:38:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: So generally, [00:38:45] one of the processes that can impact ovarian aging is, um, fibrosis.
[00:38:49] Dr. Taz: [00:38:50] Mm-hmm.
[00:38:50] Dr. Piraye Beim: So this is when tissue becomes fibrotic. Um, and for a number of women with [00:38:55] PCOS, um, their ovaries actually become so fibrotic from all those back, that traffic jam of [00:39:00] follicles, um, that it starts to actually kill their ovary, and about [00:39:05] 15% of women w- who have PCOS early in life go into very early menopause.
[00:39:08] Dr. Taz: Mm.
[00:39:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's not true. Most women [00:39:10] with PCOS go into later menopause slightly.
[00:39:12] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:39:12] Dr. Piraye Beim: But some women actually fall off a cliff [00:39:15] much faster- Mm ... and it's because they have all this fibrosis. So what I would say is that if you're struggling with [00:39:20] obesity, if you're struggling with chronic inflammation, you are, you are [00:39:25] accelerating the, um, underlying aging mechanism, not only of your body, but your [00:39:30] ovary, and then it ends up being kind of a...
[00:39:31] Dr. Piraye Beim: Your ovary ages faster than your body ages faster. It ends up kind of that. So I [00:39:35] would say that, um, manage those lifestyle factors for sure.
[00:39:38] Dr. Taz: What about light? You mentioned [00:39:40] light, and I'm just thinking about all the people on their phones and-
[00:39:42] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah ...
[00:39:42] Dr. Taz: the blue light that we have nowadays. Is that, [00:39:45] is that something we should be a little bit more mindful of, or is that a little bit lower on the list?
[00:39:49] Dr. Piraye Beim: You know, it's... [00:39:50] I, I'm very mindful of it because now I'm in perimenopause, and I think that- Right ... um, so [00:39:55] that's kind of a slightly different category. If we're talking about what you can do to extend ovarian function and optimize ovarian [00:40:00] function- Right. Mm-hmm ... I think being, um, you know, careful about the environmental toxins that you're [00:40:05] putting into your body, 'cause your ovary is one of the most sensitive organs in your body.
[00:40:08] Dr. Piraye Beim: Levels of radiation that won't [00:40:10] impact anything else in your body will start to kill your ovary first. Mm. So your ovary is one of the first things [00:40:15] that starts to be impacted by toxins and, um, and, and, you know, [00:40:20] uh, things like radioactivity. So you want to, uh, you wanna be careful, um, about [00:40:25] things like that.
[00:40:25] Dr. Piraye Beim: I think that when we think about, um, what women can do- [00:40:30] Once they start to approach perimenopause or if they have ovarian [00:40:35] dysfunction and they have ovaries that are more sensitive or not as hardwired to function [00:40:40] correctly, um, is they have to control the things that are being dysregulated. So [00:40:45] if you have an ovary and it's working in perfect harmony with the rest of your body, that's great.
[00:40:49] Dr. Piraye Beim: You can take on some [00:40:50] extra risk factors, right? This is kind of like when you're, um, when you're younger and in general- Right, right ... you [00:40:55] haven't started the mechanisms of aging as mu- much. You can have a later night. Right, right. You can have that extra glass of [00:41:00] wine. You know, you can handle the stress. As we get older, you can't handle it as well.
[00:41:04] Dr. Piraye Beim: So the [00:41:05] same thing is true for your ovary. So when you think about, um, okay, my ovary's not functioning as [00:41:10] well, um, I wear a continuous glucose monitor.
[00:41:12] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:41:13] Dr. Piraye Beim: Me too. You do? Okay. [00:41:15] I wear one. Awesome. Yeah. Um, I started wearing one back in 2020- Yeah ... when we started to see [00:41:20] the- Yeah ... the interplay between, uh, the ovary and metabolism.
[00:41:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, and I have found that it's a game changer for [00:41:25] things like hot flashes.
[00:41:26] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:41:27] Dr. Piraye Beim: Right? Like, one of the things that concerns me about these drugs that are [00:41:30] specifically targeting the thermostat in the brain-
[00:41:32] Dr. Taz: Right,
[00:41:32] Dr. Piraye Beim: right ... is that it's like the house is on fire, and [00:41:35] instead of dealing with the house being on fire, you just turn the fire alarm off and you go back to sleep.
[00:41:39] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:41:40] And for women who have debilitating hot flashes, they've gotta just get some sleep, you know, do whatever they [00:41:45] can to turn the thermostat off. I, I'm not coming out anti these drugs. I'm just saying [00:41:50] Take the drugs, manage the hot flashes, but don't forget why you're having the hot flashes. Right. And what I [00:41:55] have found is that when I'm being really disciplined about the lifestyle factors that do impact [00:42:00] my ovarian function, um, then, um, I don't get the hot flashes, I [00:42:05] don't get the perimenopausal symptoms in the same way.
[00:42:07] Dr. Piraye Beim: And so I encourage women whose ovaries are either not [00:42:10] functioning anymore 'cause they're menopausal or are functioning less well because they're perimenopausal [00:42:15] or they have conditions like PCOS to be very mindful about light exposure. [00:42:20]
[00:42:20] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
[00:42:20] Dr. Piraye Beim: So that means getting adequate sleep, because sleep is a time when you make [00:42:25] melatonin.
[00:42:25] Dr. Piraye Beim: Melatonin is your sleep hormone, and you cannot make ovarian hormones [00:42:30] without melatonin.
[00:42:31] Dr. Taz: Mm. Interesting.
[00:42:31] Dr. Piraye Beim: The ovary will stop functioning. If you stick a mouse [00:42:35] in all dark or all light for two weeks, it stops ovulating. [00:42:40] It gains weight. It becomes insulin resistant.
[00:42:43] Dr. Taz: Wow.
[00:42:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah.
[00:42:44] Dr. Taz: Oh my gosh. [00:42:45] I'm not a good sleeper.
[00:42:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's, that's all it takes. I'm
[00:42:47] Dr. Taz: always trying to cheat. It's... Anyhow.
[00:42:49] Dr. Piraye Beim: And, and [00:42:50] we know from IVF related studies that, for example, when they look at nurses who have shift work- Right ... and they [00:42:55] work at night-
[00:42:55] Dr. Taz: Right ...
[00:42:55] Dr. Piraye Beim: they have much lower- Yes ... IVF success rates as well because their ovaries are being impacted. Hmm.
[00:42:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's [00:43:00] impacting their egg quality. It's impacting their health. And so, um, I think, [00:43:05] yes, sleep's a big one, and unfortunately, that means the screens. Right. The [00:43:10] screens are a big one. Um, we see that in cities like New York, um, where children weren't [00:43:15] able to get outside during the pandemic and were on screens all the time, overnight, we had a, [00:43:20] I think, uh, an increase from 5% precocious puberty, meaning girls going into pu- [00:43:25] puberty before the age of eight, to, like, 20%.
[00:43:27] Dr. Taz: And that's from light.
[00:43:29] Dr. Piraye Beim: That's from light.
[00:43:29] Dr. Taz: [00:43:30] Oh my gosh, we've been seeing this.
[00:43:31] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yes, because their little ovaries were so impacted by- Ah ... missing [00:43:35] out on the normal circadian rhythm, being blasted by blue light. Hasn't been proven, but [00:43:40] that's what's been hypothesized. Wow. And based on what I've seen in our work, I really believe that [00:43:45] hypothesis, that the disruption of, of melatonin.
[00:43:47] Dr. Piraye Beim: So for my kids, we talk about [00:43:50] melatonin.
[00:43:50] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:43:50] Dr. Piraye Beim: Not because they take it as a supplement. Right. I, I don't give my kids melatonin, [00:43:55] but, um, but we talk about melatonin. Like, it's nighttime. As we approach the evening, we [00:44:00] start to dim the lights. If they need to do homework, we do it with a task light rather than having all the lights on.[00:44:05]
[00:44:05] Dr. Piraye Beim: And, and the kids are mindful, "Oh, I don't wanna see a screen right now. I don't wanna wreck my melatonin. My brain [00:44:10] has to start getting me ready-
[00:44:11] Dr. Taz: Hmm ...
[00:44:11] Dr. Piraye Beim: to keep me asleep so that I can make more melatonin." And then [00:44:15] what melatonin does is it has powerful anti-inflammatory impacts. It- [00:44:20] allows us to metabolize the food that we ate in a better way.
[00:44:23] Dr. Piraye Beim: Melatonin is not just a sleep [00:44:25] hormone. It's also a metabolic hormone. It's also an ovarian hormone. And so when you're [00:44:30] losing that signaling from the ovary, your melatonin signaling starts to be disrupted. So you have to [00:44:35] practice good sleep habits, but that also means, um, part of good sleep habits are exposing yourself to [00:44:40] the right kind of light at the right times.
[00:44:41] Dr. Piraye Beim: So on my Instagram, I'm always posting, like, [00:44:45] me outside in the sun or my kids outside in the sun. Like, we have a rule at home. On the [00:44:50] weekends, you have to be outside before 11:00, rain or shine. So I have rain gear for my [00:44:55] kids. I have snow gear for my kids. Like, rain or shine-
[00:44:57] Dr. Taz: You have to be outside ...
[00:44:58] Dr. Piraye Beim: you have to be outside-
[00:44:59] Dr. Taz: Wow
[00:44:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:45:00] without sunglasses on before 11:00 in the morning to just tell your brain, "We're awake." [00:45:05] Wake
[00:45:05] Dr. Taz: up. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. This is so fascinating. I could talk to you about [00:45:10] this. I have more questions. I don't know how to get all my questions in. I have m- so many more questions. I [00:45:15] mean, I... So curious. We'll probably have to do a part two, what you think about, you know, fertility [00:45:20] today and the, you know, the whole assisted reproduction and sort of what your opinion is [00:45:25] on, on that industry.
[00:45:27] Dr. Taz: What you're hoping for women in perimenopause and menopause. You know, someone [00:45:30] who's going into menopause, like, can they bring their AMH back up? Have you seen that [00:45:35] happen? Is that a possibility?
[00:45:36] Dr. Piraye Beim: Um, I think that it's hard, um, [00:45:40] once you are... Y- you can bring it up on a short-term basis, like you said, through some of these interventions.
[00:45:44] Dr. Piraye Beim: I think [00:45:45] that, um, it's more about I [00:45:50] think giving your ovary the best shot-
[00:45:52] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm ...
[00:45:52] Dr. Piraye Beim: to age on the best trajectory possible. So [00:45:55] I did all the wrong things from an ovarian health standpoint when I was younger.
[00:45:58] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:45:59] Dr. Piraye Beim: Me too. Um, I smoked. Mm-hmm. [00:46:00] I was chronically sleep deprived. I, I lived off of, like, Snickers bars and, [00:46:05] and Coke.
[00:46:05] Dr. Piraye Beim: I, I have such a healthy lifestyle now. When people hear about my lifestyle when I was in graduate school- I'm right there [00:46:10] with
[00:46:10] Dr. Taz: you .
[00:46:10] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah . Diet Coke, Diet Coke,
[00:46:12] Dr. Taz: and popcorn. Those were my [00:46:15] go-tos,
[00:46:15] Dr. Piraye Beim: so. Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. So we, we did not fuel our bodies. No, not at all. We did not rest our bodies. Mm. So I, I did [00:46:20] all the wrong things when I was younger.
[00:46:21] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah. And I, and I had the sobering, um, realization in [00:46:25] my early 30s that I had very low AMH. And so based on my AMH levels, [00:46:30] I should have gone into menopause, um, by around 40.
[00:46:33] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:46:34] Dr. Piraye Beim: I'm now, [00:46:35] uh, turning 46- Mm-hmm ... uh, very soon, and my... Since I changed my lifestyle, my [00:46:40] AMH levels have barely changed.
[00:46:41] Dr. Taz: Wow.
[00:46:42] Dr. Piraye Beim: It's been incredible.
[00:46:42] Dr. Taz: That's incredible. '
[00:46:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: Cause I, I really grieved [00:46:45] when I got that diagnosis early in my 30s. I thought, um, well, that's it, you [00:46:50] know? I, I, it, you know, this didn't work out for me, and, um, I'm not gonna be able to have [00:46:55] children naturally. I'm not gonna- Right ... I mean, I was actually counseled that I- IVF wasn't gonna work for me.[00:47:00]
[00:47:00] Dr. Taz: Oh, my gosh.
[00:47:00] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah. But I was trashing my body. I really was not taking... I mean, not, like, [00:47:05] drugs and alcohol, but like- Right, right ... you know, all the other- But yeah ... lifestyle factors. All the other things, yeah. I was not doing well [00:47:10] for my body, and I, I made so many changes. The other thing that, um, you know, from an ovarian health [00:47:15] standpoint that I think is worth mentioning is endometriosis.
[00:47:17] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm.
[00:47:18] Dr. Piraye Beim: So [00:47:20] endometriosis, we think of it as a menstrual disorder. Um, women often have very painful periods, so we [00:47:25] associate endometriosis with menstruation. But, um, what we know is that AMH, uh, [00:47:30] levels can impact endometriosis risk, and that having [00:47:35] endometriosis can impact ovarian health as well. Right. So there's a circle there.
[00:47:38] Dr. Piraye Beim: And what I would say is [00:47:40] that, um, for women, uh, uh, that impacted me. I have endometriosis, and that's part [00:47:45] of why I had lower AMH by my early 30s, is that that also went untreated. [00:47:50] Um, it was in part because pain was normalized for me. Right. [00:47:55] When I had my first endometriosis symptoms, which was my very first period, um, I mean, [00:48:00] I'd never been in pain like that in my life.
[00:48:02] Dr. Piraye Beim: And now that I've had the opportunity to, [00:48:05] uh, deliver babies and go through labor, what I learned was that [00:48:10] a typical period for me, if I was unmedicated, felt like transitional labor. [00:48:15]
[00:48:15] Dr. Taz: Wow. I mean, I just think there's so much here that is actually a message of [00:48:20] hope, to be honest. You know? Like, first of all, drugs that your company is developing and working on, I think [00:48:25] that's...
[00:48:25] Dr. Taz: You know, I have a 16-year-old, I think about her health all the time. So for our girls and [00:48:30] for young women, you know, it's super exciting that they'll be able to have better control of this. I feel like we've- Yeah ... had to [00:48:35] fight for it or have had to- Yeah ... learn it by bumping our heads around. So I think that's really hopeful.
[00:48:39] Dr. Taz: I think the [00:48:40] other hopeful and, I think, call to action for all women listening, and [00:48:45] I hope they pass this on to their daughters and their mothers and their sisters and whoever else, is let's follow [00:48:50] these numbers. Yeah. Right? Why can't we follow an AM- I do this in practice. Yeah. But it [00:48:55] should be standard.
[00:48:55] Dr. Taz: Follow your AMH. Follow your inflammation markers. Understand what's happening, no [00:49:00] matter how old you are. Yeah. Because it's your first window, really, into not just [00:49:05] your overall health, but now, like, your ovarian health, which is an important piece of, of [00:49:10] everything. Everything's bidirectional. So I think that's a really important message I hope people will [00:49:15] take from our conversation as well.
[00:49:16] Dr. Taz: I'm super excited about the work you're doing. Look, I could talk to you [00:49:20] for- ... probably another hour, and I'm already getting time signals from everyone. But I wanna leave with just one [00:49:25] question that I'm asking all my guests. You know, you are a pioneer in your field. You're a [00:49:30] pioneer in this area of ovarian health.
[00:49:31] Dr. Taz: You founded CellMatics. You've been recognized globally [00:49:35] as an entrepreneur and an innovator. I've read your bio. You've done so many amazing things. [00:49:40] Just thinking about what gets you up in the morning and what keeps you going, I wanna [00:49:45] know what makes you whole.
[00:49:47] Dr. Piraye Beim: Oh, my gosh. Um, well, [00:49:50] I'm a mom, and so I'll just lead and say that my children inspire me.
[00:49:53] Dr. Piraye Beim: I really, really want a [00:49:55] different world for your daughter, for my daughter, but also for my boys. It's so important. [00:50:00] And, um, if you ask my, my boys, "What does Mommy [00:50:05] do?" They say, "Well, our testes are gonna function throughout our lifespan, [00:50:10] but our sister's ovaries are gonna stop working in the middle of her life, and that's not fair, and Mommy's trying to do something [00:50:15] about it."
[00:50:15] Dr. Piraye Beim: Amazing. So I think-
[00:50:17] Dr. Taz: That's
[00:50:17] Dr. Piraye Beim: amazing. It's like you, if you can explain- Yeah ... it to a [00:50:20] five-year-old. Yeah. So it's pretty- There you go. I love it ... it's pretty simple. It's a, it's an equity issue. [00:50:25] And, um, so, so they're rooting for me, and I don't wanna let them down, and I, I wanna show [00:50:30] them that, um, that you can put your mind to hard things that feel [00:50:35] impossible.
[00:50:35] Dr. Piraye Beim: Everything starts with a dream. Everything starts with a crazy idea that you have, and then you [00:50:40] can add data to it. You, you know, science is real. And so I'd say that [00:50:45] that being that role model for my children, but also that facilitator, that catalyst of a better health [00:50:50] outcome for them is really important to me.
[00:50:52] Dr. Piraye Beim: But the other thing that I will say is that [00:50:55] I barely go a week, and I've been at this, you know, for [00:51:00] over 20 years- Mm-hmm ... as I mentioned-
[00:51:01] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm ...
[00:51:01] Dr. Piraye Beim: without somebody sharing, [00:51:05] um, the fertility struggle they're having. Yes. Uh, just last week I got [00:51:10] three phone calls from women in my network because they had been counseled to remove parts of their [00:51:15] body, their fallopian tubes, their uterus, their cervix, their ovary.
[00:51:19] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:51:20] And, um, and, and I reflected on it that- [00:51:25] While men do, of course, lose body parts, not at the frequency that [00:51:30] women do. I mean, the, the fact that we [00:51:35] don't understand female biology, we don't know how to treat female biology, and so then as [00:51:40] we start to accumulate diseases because of female biology, we just neutralize the- Right
[00:51:43] Dr. Piraye Beim: female biology.
[00:51:44] Dr. Taz: [00:51:45] Right.
[00:51:45] Dr. Piraye Beim: Remove the parts, kill the estrogen. The fact that [00:51:50] that's our toolbox, I am constantly reminded.
[00:51:54] Dr. Taz: Drives me insane.
[00:51:54] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:51:55] It drives me insane too. Yeah. And, and I, I will be honest, because I [00:52:00] think sometimes you can make it look easier than it is. Um, having this [00:52:05] conversation, this is my happy place, getting to talk about this stuff.
[00:52:07] Dr. Piraye Beim: Yeah. I'm very passionate about it, but I will say [00:52:10] I wanna give up every single day. Every single day.
[00:52:13] Dr. Taz: It's a fight.
[00:52:14] Dr. Piraye Beim: Every [00:52:15] single day there's a moment where I think, "It's too hard. It's not gonna work. People aren't gonna understand. We're not [00:52:20] gonna have adequate funding." Some setback every day makes me think, um, [00:52:25] I'm exhausted.
[00:52:26] Dr. Piraye Beim: I- Yep ... you know, who am I? I totally- One person- ... 100% get this ... to have an impact. Every day I, [00:52:30] I'd be lying if I didn't say for a minute at least every day. Some days it's hours, some days it's just that minute of, [00:52:35] "Can we do this? Are we gonna get this done?" I doubt myself every day, [00:52:40] and when I get that phone call from a friend who says, "You'll never believe what my doctor said to [00:52:45] me"-
[00:52:45] Dr. Taz: The fire starts right back
[00:52:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: up
[00:52:46] Dr. Piraye Beim: boy. The, or my daughter says- Yep ... you know, [00:52:50] "Tick-tock." Yeah. You know?
[00:52:51] Dr. Taz: Get on it, Mom. "
[00:52:52] Dr. Piraye Beim: When is this stuff gonna be ready?" You know? Or it feels [00:52:55] just so obvious to my boys that of course we should live in a world where our sister [00:53:00] has the same rights to have her body age on the same trajectory that we have. [00:53:05] Um, and let me end with one statistic too, because oftentimes people say, "Well, women [00:53:10] outlive men."
[00:53:10] Dr. Taz: Mm-hmm. "
[00:53:11] Dr. Piraye Beim: Aren't you... Y- you're more than equal." Statistically, [00:53:15] yes, but we don't out thrive men.
[00:53:17] Dr. Taz: Right.
[00:53:18] Dr. Piraye Beim: We are sick for 25% [00:53:20] longer, so- That's my answer to that, [00:53:25] is that when I talk about aging equitably and enabling that, [00:53:30] um, what I mean is well span. The years that we feel healthy, the years that we [00:53:35] can run a triathlon.
[00:53:35] Dr. Piraye Beim: And vibrant and vital. Yeah. The years that we can think clearly and, and be our most [00:53:40] creative, passionate selves. That we have a sex drive. That we, um, you know, [00:53:45] don't have all of the issues that, as you know and your audience knows, we struggle so much with [00:53:50] once our, uh, ovaries start to go offline. So those are the things that inspire me, is [00:53:55] that, um, we have a real shot at this.
[00:53:57] Dr. Piraye Beim: I mentioned we got the ARPA-H SPARK [00:54:00] Award for Ovarian Health. So amazing. And, and now we have the US government as our strategic partner in [00:54:05] this. Amazing. They've recognized ovarian health matters to the health of the nation. And, [00:54:10] um, so I'd say it's getting a little easier, but, um, but moments like [00:54:15] this, too, inspire me where, um, people are getting excited about our work and, and [00:54:20] starting to figure out...
[00:54:20] Dr. Piraye Beim: Like, while they're rooting us on for the exciting things that we're gonna do for the next generation, [00:54:25] what the, what we learn about biology on the path to creating those new innovations [00:54:30] gives us these tools, like we were talking about, diet, lifestyle, sleep, stress [00:54:35] management, exercise, um- That we can do today to at least make the most of what we [00:54:40] have.
[00:54:40] Dr. Taz: I think this is such an incredible journey. I'm gonna be rooting and cheering you- ... from the [00:54:45] sidelines for sure. And I do think that, you know, what makes a lot of us whole, [00:54:50] honestly, is the ability to really make that impact, right? Mm-hmm. To have that stamp on the world, [00:54:55] and be able to say that we created something, did something that really did change lives at the end of the [00:55:00] day.
[00:55:00] Dr. Taz: I know I feel the same way. There are days that I'm like, "Why am I doing this?" Like, [00:55:05] w- what is wrong with me? But it is... It's the stories, and it's the [00:55:10] experiences that, again, we get faced with over and over again that keep us all motivated. So you're an [00:55:15] inspiration. Oh. I'm so proud to know you. Thank you. I am...
[00:55:17] Dr. Taz: I have been inspired by this conversation, so thank you for taking [00:55:20] time out today to join us. And I know you mentioned Boss Ovary is the place where people can [00:55:25] find you on social media and follow you. That's right. Is there anywhere else that, you know, if they're curious about your [00:55:30] work, that, uh, they can go and learn more?
[00:55:32] Dr. Piraye Beim: Well, they can follow us. We're actually, [00:55:35] um... We're pretty good on LinkedIn.
[00:55:36] Dr. Taz: Yep.
[00:55:36] Dr. Piraye Beim: So Celmatix is pretty good at, on LinkedIn about talking about our [00:55:40] updates. So we had, um, some recent breakthroughs we didn't get a chance to talk about. For [00:55:45] example, we're trying to get rid of needles from IVF, and just create- That would be game changer
[00:55:48] Dr. Piraye Beim: a world where-
[00:55:49] Dr. Taz: Yeah ...
[00:55:49] Dr. Piraye Beim: [00:55:50] we can both reduce the need for IVF through treating fertility more effectively at the OBGYN, but [00:55:55] also getting rid of needles when we get there. So there's a lot of other things other than, um, what we talked about [00:56:00] today that we're working on. And if people are interested in our work at Celmatix, they can follow us on LinkedIn or on our [00:56:05] website, celmatix.com.
[00:56:06] Dr. Piraye Beim: And then, um, and then I'm trying to be pretty good on Boss [00:56:10] Ovary too of, as I learn things, and I'm... This is why I started it. A friend of mine in media said, [00:56:15] "You, you figured this protocol out for you. You're doing it for you. Just [00:56:20] throw posts on and, and take us along on the journey." And so I've been trying to do that.
[00:56:24] Dr. Piraye Beim: But [00:56:25] also in the context of showing people the ups and downs of being- Right ... an entrepreneur in this space as [00:56:30] well. Because I think that a lot of people didn't realize that so little capital goes into innovation in this space. Yeah. [00:56:35] So that's what I'm trying to do with Boss Ovary right now.
[00:56:37] Dr. Taz: Amazing. Well, thank you again for joining us.
[00:56:39] Dr. Taz: And for everybody [00:56:40] watching and listening, I hope you'll check her out- ... and check out all the resources. And let's all [00:56:45] advocate for ovarian health, and help women understand this really important issue. Thank you so much. Thank [00:56:50] you.
[00:56:51] Dr. Taz: Thank you so much for listening and watching today's episode of Whole Plus.[00:56:55]
[00:56:55] Dr. Taz: Be sure to share this episode with your friends and family. And if you haven't already, please take a moment to [00:57:00] subscribe to this podcast on YouTube, or click the follow button on Apple, Spotify, or [00:57:05] wherever it is that you get your podcasts. And don't forget to follow me on all social channels at [00:57:10] DrTazMD.
[00:57:10] Dr. Taz: Until next time, stay healthy and stay whole.