Science in the Cinema presents The [M] Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause
Presented by the UCalgary's O'Brien Institute for Public Health, and hosted in partnership with the Calgary Public Library.
Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Where: Central Library, 800 3 St SE, Calgary, AB
Doors Open: 5:00 pm
Begins at: 5:30 pm *NEW TIME*
About the film:
Menopause is a significant but often overlooked public health issue, affecting millions of women both physically and psychologically. The [M] Factor is a documentary that breaks down the stigma and sparks conversation around the physical, emotional, and social impacts of menopause.
Join the Sex, Gender and Women's Health Research Hub and the Centre on Aging from the O'Brien Institute for Public Health to watch this transformative documentary, and take part in a discussion on what is needed to improve health outcomes for Canadian women.
FREE admission and snack, seating is first-come, first-serve.
Meet the Speakers
Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, Moderator
Dr. Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, MD, is a professor in the Cumming School of Medicine’s Departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. As an academic geriatrician, she leads the university’s Centre on Aging, holds the Brenda Strafford Foundation Chair in Geriatric Medicine, and was recently reappointed as the academic and clinical head in Alberta Health Services (AHS) Calgary zone. Her research interests involve the use of knowledge translation science to improve the care provided for older adults.
Dr. Cindy Barha, Panelist
Dr. Cindy Barha, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary and holds the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Neuroscience, Brain Health and exercise. Dr. Barha’s research focuses on how exercise supports healthy brain aging, cognition, and neuroplasticity including how sex, genetics, and key life stages such as pregnancy, midlife, and older age shape the brain’s response to exercise and lifelong brain health.
Dr. Jamie Benham, Panelist
Dr. Jamie Benham, MD, PhD, is an endocrinologist and assistant professor at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. Her clinical work focuses on diabetes in pregnancy, polycystic ovary syndrome, and menopause, while her research explores reproductive and cardiometabolic health throughout life for people affected by reproductive endocrine disorders. Dr. Benham is the principal investigator and lead of the EMBRACE Women’s Health Research Lab.
Dr. Erin Brennand
Dr. Erin Brennand, MD, MSc, is a urogynecologist, clinician-scientist, and associate professor at the University of Calgary. She is the first woman to serve as academic and clinical department head of obstetrics and gynecology in Calgary. Dr. Brennand is also the director and founder of the Sex, Gender and Women’s Health Research Hub (SGWH) and co-leads GROWW, a national CIHR-funded program advancing research to improve women’s and girls’ health.
Dr. Lauren Walker
Dr. Lauren Walker, PhD, RPsych, is a Registered Psychologist in Alberta and holds an Adjunct Associate Professorship in the Departments of Oncology and Psychology at the University of Calgary. She directs the University of Calgary’s Oncology Sexual Health Lab and maintains an active research program with over 60 peer reviewed scientific publications. Her current projects focus on trauma informed care and the impacts of health conditions on sexuality. Dr. Walker also runs a private sex therapy counselling practice specializing in sexuality and intimate relationships.
Save the Date: December 3, 2025
Join us for a screening of Low Priority - sequel to the 2023 film Low.
Low Priority is a fictional narrative film based on the lived experiences of people with diabetes experiencing homelessness. When Bobby, a man living with diabetes experiences a dangerous low blood sugar in a shelter bathroom, his journey to the hospital is not just a medical emergency — it becomes a revealing portrait of how stigma and judgment follow people experiencing homelessness through the health care system. Through his eyes, the film spotlights the resilience required to navigate not only a life-threatening condition in an impossible situation, but also an overburdened system that tends to see the circumstance before the person, challenging us to confront our assumptions about care, dignity, and humanity.
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