Early and accurate diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is critical for patients because they have elevated testosterone levels and irregular periods, and therefore will have difficulty getting pregnant. Fertility challenges are not the only long-term effects of PCOS. Margrit Urbanek, PhD, associate professor of Endocrinology at Northwestern Medicine, is looking to genetics to determine what causes PCOS.

“Once we know the cause of PCOS, we can target treatment,” Dr. Urbanek explains. “We’re able to postulate multiple different pathways by which we can get to those outcomes. By studying genetics, we can determine which of those pathways are important.”

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