What is Maren?
Maren was created in response to the persistent gaps in how cycle-based mood disorders are recognized, tracked, and treated. Despite growing awareness of PMDD, many individuals still struggle to find tools that reflect the lived reality of cyclical mental health symptoms.
This project aims to enhance symptom tracking, improve clinical communication, and support future research in women’s mental health. Maren is preparing for its first IRB-validated study. Our mission involves understanding the totality of menstrual cycle-related mood disorders, particularly PMDD, at the phenotypic and eventually genotypic level.
Maren is a research and self-tracking tool and is not intended to replace professional medical care.
Founder
Maren is being developed by Karissa Becknel, a second-year medical student at Howard University College of Medicine, which is a university committed to health equity and community-centered research.
As someone who lived with undiagnosed PMDD for years before discovering the condition, Karissa understands firsthand the challenges of navigating cyclical mental health symptoms and the barriers women, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, face in accessing accurate diagnosis and care.
Her work combines training in public health, translational research, and digital health innovation with a focus on reproductive mental health and health equity. Maren's pilot study, conducted at Howard University, focuses on communities historically underrepresented in reproductive psychiatry research - addressing critical gaps in how we understand menstrual-related mood disorders across diverse populations.
Maren's development involves collaborations with physician mentors and academic experts across obstetrics/gynecology, reproductive psychiatry, and public health informatics.
Contact us
"Join Our Research"
We're currently recruiting participants for our pilot study at Howard University, which examines digital symptom tracking among Black women with menstrual-related mood symptoms.
Participants receive:
- Compensation for time ($75 for full participation)
- Early access to Maren
- Contribution to groundbreaking research
Interested? Sign up to learn more.