Alex Alvergne
CNRS Research Fellow | Team Leader
My research focuses on the evolutionary ecology of women's health. I use theoretical frameworks from evolutionary biology to understand how female physiological and behavioral traits vary according to environmental, social and cultural contexts.
As a researcher in human evolutionary ecology, I propose an innovative approach to rethinking notions of "normality" and "pathology" (in the sense of Canguilhem, 1943) in the field of women's health. My research shows that many physiological variations, often medicalized as dysfunctions, may in fact be adaptive responses to specific environments.
My recent research focuses on:
- The impact of vaccination and infection on menstrual cycles
- Ecological and physiological determinants of contraceptive side effects
- The role of cultural transmission in the evolution of reproductive norms
I'm currently working on two questions:
- What are the developmental origins of endometriosis (EnDOHAD)? in collaboration with Montpellier University Hospital (Dr Noémie Ranisavljevic) and Simon Fraser University (Bernard Crespi), funded by the Endometriosis Research Foundation.
- What are the social-ecological determinants of menstrual health variation in Occitanie (ANR C-HEALTH project) in collaboration with Montpellier University Hospital (Dr Noémie RANISAVLJEVIC).
For more information on my scientific articles, see my Google Scholar page.
Le covid long perturbe les menstruations et inversement
Une nouvelle étude révèle que le Covid long est associé à des perturbations du cycle...
Long Covid linked to heavier periods and risk of iron deficiency
Women with long Covid are prone to longer, heavier periods, which could put them at...
Long covid may be making your periods longer and heavier / New Scientist 16 sept 2025
Long covid seems to disrupt the menstrual cycle, making periods heavier and longer. This may...
The potential bidirectional relationship between long COVID and menstruation
Women have reported menstrual changes after infection with SARS-CoV-2, as well as an increase in...
Social clustering of preference for female genital mutilation/cutting in south-central Ethiopia
Recent estimates indicate that half of Ethiopian girls aged 15 to 19...
Menstrual cycle length changes following vaccination against influenza alone or with COVID-19
Numerous studies have identified an association between vaccination against COVID-19 and...
Environment more crucial than genes in risk of early death, study suggests
A study co-authored by Alex Alvergne...
Low haemoglobin in arduous seasons is associated with reduced chance of ovulation among women living in the Bolivian altiplano
Background and objectives: Female reproductive function responds flexibly to ecological variations...
First episode of the "My Endo on Waves" series - S01E01: Developmental Origins of Endometriosis (EnDOHAD) with Dr Alexandra Alvergne (CNRS)
First episode of the "Mon Endo en Ondes" series, the EndoZen program that explains endometriosis, co-produced...
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38 documents
- Sarah Myers, Eshetu Gurmu, Alexandra Alvergne, Daniel Redhead, Janet A Howard, et al.. Social clustering of preference for female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC) in South-Central Ethiopia. Nature Human Behaviour, In press. ⟨hal-05061979⟩
- Jacqueline A Maybin, Catherine Walker, Marianne Watters, Natalie Zm Homer, Joanna P Simpson, et al.. The potential bidirectional relationship between long COVID and menstruation. Nature Communications, In press, ⟨10.1038/s41467-025-62965-7⟩. ⟨hal-05269028⟩
- M. Austin Argentieri, Najaf Amin, Alejo J Nevado-Holgado, William Sproviero, Jennifer A Collister, et al.. Integrating the environmental and genetic architectures of aging and mortality. Nature Medicine, 2025, 31 (3), pp.1016-1025. ⟨10.1038/s41591-024-03483-9⟩. ⟨hal-04301069⟩
- Alexandra Alvergne, Emily Boniface, Blair Darney, Amanda Shea, Kirsten Weber, et al.. Associations Among Menstrual Cycle Length, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and Vaccination. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2024, 143 (1), pp.83-91. ⟨10.1097/AOG.0000000000005343⟩. ⟨hal-04301047⟩
- Alexandra Alvergne. Why we must fight ignorance about COVID-19 vaccines and menstrual cycles. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 2023, ⟨10.1016/j.molmed.2023.06.005⟩. ⟨hal-04156989⟩
- Alexandra Alvergne, Gabriella Kountourides, M. Austin Argentieri, Lisa Agyen, Natalie Rogers, et al.. A retrospective case-control study on menstrual cycle changes following COVID-19 vaccination and disease. iScience, 2023, pp.106401. ⟨10.1016/j.isci.2023.106401⟩. ⟨hal-04044939⟩
- Alexandra Alvergne, Ee Von Woon, Victoria Male. Effect of COVID-19 vaccination on the timing and flow of menstrual periods in two cohorts. Frontiers in Reproductive Health, 2022, 4, pp.952976. ⟨10.3389/frph.2022.952976⟩. ⟨hal-03859231⟩
- Antoine M Dujon, Justine Boutry, Sophie Tissot, Jean-François Lemaître Lemaître, Amy Boddy, et al.. Cancer Susceptibility as a Cost of Reproduction and Contributor to Life History Evolution. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2022, 10, pp.861103. ⟨10.3389/fevo.2022.861103⟩. ⟨hal-03663551⟩
- Alexandra Alvergne. Cultural Evolution and Population Health Interventions. Tehrani, R.Kendal; J.Kendal. The Oxford Handbook of Cultural Evolution, Oxford University Press, In press. ⟨hal-03798255⟩
- Vedrana Högqvist Tabor, Mikael Högqvist Tabor, Sarai Keestra, Jean-Etienne Parrot, Alexandra Alvergne. Improving the Quality of Life of Patients with an Underactive Thyroid Through mHealth: A Patient-Centered Approach. Women's Health Reports, 2021, 2 (1), pp.182 - 194. ⟨10.1089/whr.2021.0010⟩. ⟨hal-03447127⟩
Documents retrieved from the HAL open archive 
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Specialty
Menstrual cycle, Behavioral ecology, Reproductive ecology