Rial-Faigenbaum Named Topic Editor on Female Athlete Health

Tamara Rial-Faigenbaum, Ph.D., specialist professor in Monmouth University's Department of Health and Physical Education and coordinator of the human performance lab, will serve as topic editor for a new frontiers research topic focused on nutrition and health across the female lifespan.

The research topic, "Fueling the Female Athlete: Low Energy Availability, RED-S, and the Nutritional Roots of Pelvic Floor, Bone, and Muscular Health Across the Lifespan," is published in Frontiers in Nutrition, a Q1 international peer-reviewed journal, with Frontiers in Sports and Active Living also as a participating journal.

The collection will bring together research examining how energy availability and nutrition influence pelvic floor, bone, and muscular health in girls and women, from recreationally active individuals to elite athletes and across key life stages including adolescence, pregnancy and postpartum recovery, menopause, and healthy aging.

"A particular focus of this collection is to connect areas of female health that have often been understudied and underresearched such as low energy availability and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), pelvic floor dysfunction, bone health, muscular fitness, and lifelong physical function," Rail-Faigenbaum said. She noted that the research topic builds on her ongoing scholarship focused on female athlete health, pelvic floor function, muscular fitness, and the role of exercise and nutrition in supporting health across the lifespan.

Rial-Faigenbaum serves as topic editor alongside Silvia Solé of the University of Lleida in Spain, with Cinta Gómez-Tomás of the University of Valencia serving as topic coordinator. Researchers worldwide are invited to contribute original research, systematic reviews, clinical trials, perspectives, and other scholarly work relevant to the research topic. Manuscripts are being accepted through March 20, 2027.