Dr.
Hall is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Assistant
in Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Assistant Chief
of the Reproductive Endocrine Unit. She is also Associate Director of the
Education Unit of the MGH Clinical Research Program and Vice-President for
Clinical Research of the Endocrine Society.
Dr. Hall’s research focuses on the neuroendocrine interactions underlying normal human reproduction and the changes that occur both with aging and in clinical disorders of ovulation.
Critical to progress in this area is the use of indirect techniques to gain access to information about the neuroendocrine control of reproduction. To accomplish this, Dr. Hall has developed and used a combination of clinical investigative approaches and models to investigate the complex interactions of the hypothalamic, pituitary and gonadal components of the reproductive axis. These have included the use of GnRH receptor blockers as physiologic probes, the use of sleep and circadian protocols, and most recently the use of positron emission tomography (PET).
Her recent studies of the physiology and pathophysiology of the menstrual cycle have focused on FSH secretion, the control of which is critical to normal reproduction. This work has helped to define the physiology of inhibin A and inhibin B relative to that of estradiol in young and older reproductive aged women.
Dr. Hall’s studies have provided increasing evidence that in the human, there are dramatic hypothalamic and pituitary changes, which occur in aging and may contribute to the menopause. Her studies have indicated that the sensitivity to estrogen negative feedback at the hypothalamic level is preserved with aging. Her current studies are addressing the effects of aging at the pituitary level in women and are using PET scans to determine the sites of estrogen negative and positive feedback in women.
Dr. Hall is continuing to study the use of pulsatile GnRH in anovulatory infertility. Conception rates are high in patients with hypothalamic amenorrhea and acquired hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, while the risks of multiple gestation and hyperstimulation are lower than with alternative therapies. The importance of controlling the risk of multiple gestation is emphasized in studies in which she has demonstrated the profound economic impact of this complication of ovulation induction. Current studies are addressing the social impact of multiple gestation and infertility treatment.
A recipient of the A.
Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School,
Dr. Hall is a clinical investigator who is actively involved in training students,
fellows and young investigators. [Click
here to view a listing of her former trainees.] Her work is supported
by R01 grants from the NIH and as well as a Midcareer Award in Patient-Oriented
Research from the NIH. In addition, she has an active clinical practice with
a particular interest in menstrual cycle abnormalities (such as polycystic
ovarian syndrome, premature menopause, hypothalamic amenorrhea), as well as
infertility and menopause. She has extensive experience with the use of clomiphene,
gonadotropins and pulsatile GnRH for ovulation induction in women with anovulatory
disorders and unexplained infertility.
Selected Publications:
• Welt CK, Hall JE, Adams JM, Taylor AE. Relationship of estradiol and inhibin to the FSH variability in premature ovarian failure. 2004 J Clin Endocrinol Metab (in press).
• Adams JM, Taylor AE, Crowley WF Jr, and Hall JE. Polycystic ovarian Morphology with Regular Ovulatory Cycles: Insights into the Pathophysiology of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. J. Clin. Endocrinol Metab 2004;89(9):4343-4350.
• Ellison MA and Hall JE. Social stigma and compounded losses: quality-of-life issues for multiple-birth families. Fertility and Sterility 2003:80:405-414.
• Welt CK, Pagan YL, Smith PC, Rado KB, Hall JE. Control of FSH by estradiol and the inhibins: critical role of estradiol at the hypothalamus during the luteal-follicular transition. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2003;88:1766-1771.
• Welt CK, Taylor AE, Martin KA, Hall JE. Serum inhibin B in polycystic ovarian syndrome: regulation by insulin and LH. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87:5559-5565.
• Gill S, Lavoie HB, Bo-Abbas Y, Hall JE. Negative feedback effects of gonadal steroids are preserved with aging in postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87:2297-2302.
• Gill S, Sharpless JL, Rado K, Hall JE. Evidence that GnRH decreases with gonadal steroid feedback but increases with age in postmenopausal women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2002;87:2290-2296.
• Joffe H, Taylor AE, Hall JE. Polycystic ovarian syndrome: relationship to epilepsy and anti-epileptic drug therapy. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2001;86:2946-2949.
• Gill S, Taylor AE, Martin KA, Welt CK, Adams JM, Hall JE. Specific factors predict the response to pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) therapy in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001;86:2428-2436.
• Welt CK, Smith ZA, Pauler DK, Hall JE. Differential regulation of inhibin A and inhibin B by LH, FSH and stage of follicle development. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001;86:2531-2537.