A Cambridge graduate has designed a new test kit which can be used to detect reproductive health problems, including ovulation issues and hormonal conditions like PCOS.

Dr Golnoush Golshirazi launched ScreenMe tests after years of struggling with undiagnosed endometriosis, which caused such severe period pains that she was prevented from completing her final exams in Natural Sciences while at Cambridge.

“I struggled a lot as a student with what I understood at the time to be very painful or bad periods,” the 30-year-old told Varsity. “This meant that every month there were days where I couldn’t get to lectures, where I would have to sit in tutorials in severe pain and try and breathe through it as I did not want it to get in the way of my success or worst of worst I would just pray to God that it wouldn’t come on my exam days.

“All of this leads to severe anxiety as you feel out of control. Your body is doing things you can’t change, you can’t explain or talk about and it affects every aspect of your life and as a Cambridge student the worst of that is how it affects your studies and your grades. And it does.”

Dr Golshirazi was unable to get a diagnosis on the NHS for the condition, which involves the growth of extra tissue in the fallopian tubes and ovaries. She had to pay over £6,000 in order to be diagnosed privately.

The tests, created alongside colleague and university friend Dr Lukasz Ciszewski, uses blood tests, urine samples and vaginal swabs, along with a unique vaginal and gut microbiome test to detect issues such as hormone imbalances and nutritional deficiencies.

The service also offers consultations, medical and nutrition reports as well as recommendations for recipes and supplements.

When asked about what more needs to be done to increase awareness and accessibility of reproductive screening, Dr Golshirazi told Varsity: “There needs to be more resources and efforts focused on incorporating hormonal and reproductive health into the educational system at every point.

“Women’s health has been treated and thought of as a more complicated version of men’s health and that needs to change. So we need to talk about it more, raise awareness and educate. This includes not just women but also the medical community.”

Commenting on what could be done to better support university students dealing with reproductive health conditions, Dr Golshirazi said: “Students can be provided with better information about their hormonal and reproductive health. This can come in many different forms such as talks, webinars, workshops and so on. If I had half the information I do today I would have struggled a lot less as a student.

“Ideally they would have access to the testing and holistic support that helped me take control of the quality of my life which we now provide under ScreenMe.

She added: “There must also be awareness raised about conditions such as endometriosis and PCOS amongst university staff and admin to allow students who suffer from symptoms of these conditions to be able to speak out and seek help when they need it. I did not think it was acceptable to walk into someone’s office and say ‘I have excruciating period pains, I need special consideration.’”

Prices of the ScreenMe private testing kits range from £159 to £500. More information can be found on the ScreenMe website.