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Menstruation Research Conference 2026

We are delighted to announce that we will be co-hosting our next conference with the Menstruation Research Network (MRN) in Brighton, on the 7th and 8th July 2026.

We look forward to bringing together researchers, clinicians, industry partners, policymakers, charities, artists, activists, and community voices. The conference will explore menstruation as a psychosocial, biomedical and environmental experience across the life course.

This event builds on the success of previous MRN and 4M conferences, previous events have sold out and drawn wide interdisciplinary engagement, which reflects our shared commitment to fostering collaborative, inclusive, and impactful menstrual health research.

We will be sharing more information about the conference on this page, 4M social media platforms and the MRN website.

Key dates

Conference Themes

The 2026 Menstruation Research Conference centres around three core thematic areas, each reflecting our shared focus on interdisciplinarity, wellbeing, and the psychosocial, biomedical and environmental contexts of menstrual health.

Menstrual Health, Mental Health & Wellbeing

This theme focuses on the intersection of menstrual and mental health, reflecting 4M’s core research area, while also considering wider dimensions of wellbeing. We welcome work exploring how biological, psychological, social and environmental factors shape mental health and broader wellbeing across the menstrual life course, from menarche to menopause. This includes research and projects on premenstrual disorders, mood, lived experience, and the wider contexts that influence menstrual wellbeing.

Menstruation and Movement: Participation & Performance in Physical Activity

This theme examines the dynamic, two-way relationship between menstruation and movement. We welcome work on how menstruation, menopause, symptoms and experiences shape participation, performance and inclusion, from everyday physical activity to high performance sport. We are equally interested in research exploring how movement, exercise and sporting environments influence menstrual health, symptoms and wider menstrual wellbeing. Submissions may draw on research, sociocultural, policy or lived-experience perspectives.

Menstrual Products: Access, Design, Health & Sustainability

Focusing on menstrual product access and affordability, user-centred design, product safety, sustainability, innovation, and the wider social, economic and environmental factors that shape product use and equity. We invite research that explores access and affordability, product design and safety, environmental impacts, user experience and bodily wellbeing, as well as the social, economic and political structures that shape product choice and exclusion.

We particularly welcome interdisciplinary and stakeholder-informed work that can inform policy, improve product development and innovation, tackle inequalities, and translate evidence into more equitable and sustainable menstrual product futures.

Additional Themes

Alongside the three core themes, we also welcome submissions addressing broader areas of interest within menstrual health:

Menstrual Dignity, Inequality & Stigma

Menstrual Policy

Menstrual Literacy & Education

Interactive Stalls & Activities

We also welcome creative and participatory contributions, including installations, zines, and arts-based or public-engagement activities. We also welcome stalls from charities and companies involved in menstrual health.

What to Expect

  • Keynote lectures from leading experts across the three themes
  • Interactive workshops across research methods, engagement and grant writing
  • Panel discussions spanning research, policy, and practice
  • Poster sessions highlighting work from early-career researchers
  • Creative contributions

We especially encourage submissions from early career researchers, practitioners, and community organisations. Our goal is to create a welcoming and vibrant environment where interdisciplinary ideas can grow and future collaborations can form.

More information