Nancy Lane, M.D., of Hillsborough, is a University of California Davis School of Medicine professor and women’s health advocate who has done much to advance gender-specific medicine. She is internationally known for breakthrough research in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, including the discovery that women often experience severe bone loss as a side effect of taking certain medications to treat asthma, arthritis, autoimmune disorders and other conditions. This led to identification of a hormone responsible for bone formation, and a major pharmaceutical company currently is awaiting FDA approval for using the hormone in certain osteoporosis treatment. Dr. Lane has been widely published in academic journals and also authored and co-authored consumer education books about osteoporosis and arthritis. In addition to her extraordinary academic career, she finds time reach out to the community as a volunteer teacher and lecturer. Her free “Mini Medical School” for the elderly fills up every time it is offered. Dr. Lane also is a passionate mentor, serving as co-director of a UC Davis program to advance women’s health research and personally mentoring six young people in the Young Investigator’s Initiative, a program she created. Dr. Lane is a compassionate physician dedicated to finding answers to women’s health issues, and to making a lasting difference by inspiring young women to enter this important field.
