Kathryn Clancy

Kathryn Clancy is a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with additional appointments in Gender and Women's Studies, Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity, and Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. She is an expert in reproductive justice, focusing on how environmental stressors impact menstruation physiology. Clancy has authored the book Period: The Real Story of Menstruation (2023) and co-authored a National Academies report on STEM harassment. Her work bridges biocultural anthropology and public health advocacy.

• Education:
  • PhD, Yale University (2007)
  • MPhil, Yale University (2007)
  • BA, Harvard University (2001)

Research Trends (2019-2025) focus on menstrual cycle variability (as shown in Consensus recommendations for measuring contraception impact, 2025), endometriosis (matrix tropism studies, 2025), and gender equity in STEM (double bind research, 2016). Her research employs gelatin hydrogels for reproductive tissue modeling and biomarker analysis (CRP, cortisol, C-peptide) across diverse populations.

• Major Awards:
  • Howell’s Book Prize (2023)
  • Center for Advanced Study Fellowship (2023)
  • Apex Award for 'Biology is Not Binary' (2025)

Grants include NIH funding (R01 HD118600, 2025) for endometrioma research and NSF grants for STEM incivility workshops (2019). She directs projects examining menstrual experiences in vaccine trials and co-leads BLEEDVAX Survey (2021, 2022) on menstrual changes post-COVID vaccination.