A woman wearing a white lab coat and blue gloves holding a chemistry flask with a dark liquid, smiling and looking playful.
Microscopic image of human cells stained with fluorescent dyes, showing various cells in pink, blue, and green colors.
A woman in a white lab coat and blue gloves sitting on the floor with various laboratory glassware and chemicals, working on a science experiment.

Cort Does Science was created to bridge the gap between scientific research and patient communities through accurate and thoughtful science communication.

A woman in a white lab coat smiling, holding blue disposable gloves, against a plain background.
Laboratory glassware with colorful liquids, including a beaker with blue liquid, a conical flask with green liquid, a beaker with yellow liquid, and other containers with red and purple liquids, along with safety goggles.
Colorized microscopic view of multiple cultured cells with purple fibers and blue nuclei on a black background.

Topics include conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell diseases, autoimmune disease, ME/CFS, long COVID, chronic pain, neurological disorders and general scientific advancements and commentary. Alongside summaries of new research, Dr. Gensemer also shares personal reflections on her health, lived experience with illness, and scientific journey.

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Some EDS Quick Facts!! 🧠 EDS isn’t just about being flexible, and it doesn’t look the same in everyone. It’s a lifelong connective tissue condition that can affect multiple systems, require multidisciplinary care, and change over
Re-introducing myself 👋 Hi, I’m Cortney (AKA Cort Does Science!) Scientist, science communicator, chronic illness patient, advocate, mom and more! I share evidence-based information and research breakdowns focused on conditions like Ehlers-Da
EDS and POTS commonly overlap, but many patients are diagnosed with one long before the other, or never told to watch for symptoms of the other. • In a clinically evaluated POTS cohort, 31% met criteria for hypermobile EDS (Miller et al., 2021)
Complex chronic illness is ✨complex✨. Our research and healthcare systems aren’t built for it. Historically, we’ve relied on narrow eligibility criteria, male-dominated cohorts, “clean” datasets, and outcomes that are easy to
Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is a rare subtype of EDS caused by pathogenic variants in COL3A1, a gene important for type III collagen in blood vessels and organs. People with vEDS may have thin, translucent skin, easy bruising, and often m
Despite what you see me share online, you might be surprised to know… 1. I don’t talk about my chronic illness with most of my friends. They know I have health issues, but I really like to focus on other aspects of life when I can. 2.
What does it mean to "do genetics" in these diseases? Well, it can mean a lot of things. It can mean studying common variants across thousands of people, uncommon or rare variants in families, or patterns that lead to shared biology and p

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