The Linda and Jack Gill Center for Biomolecular Science is extremely proud to present the following five scientists with the Transformative Investigator Award for their impressive contributions to identifying sex differences (or similarities) in the brain.
Harvard University
Research Summary: The Dulac Lab uses molecular, genetic and optical techniques to explore the molecular and neuronal basis of innate social behaviors in the mouse. Her research focuses on circuits that underly sex-specific behaviors, known for sex and smell, as well as elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying reproductive and aggressive behaviors and sex-specificity in pheromone responses.
Additional information on Catherine Dulac's research
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Research Summary: Dr. McCarthy's research focuses on the influence of steroid hormones on the developing brain with a special emphasis on understanding the cellular mechanisms that establish sex differences (including roles for prostaglandins, endocannabinoids, amino acid transmitters, and multiple enzymes) by which steroids permanently organize the developing brain differently in males and females.
Additional information on Margaret McCarthy's research
HHMI—Janelia Research Campus
Research Summary: The Dickson lab uses molecular genetic techniques to study the function of neural circuits in Drosophila to understand courtship circuitry and decipher sex differences and similarities. Their goal is to understand how information processing in defined neural circuits generates complex animal behaviours. As a model system, they focus on the fly's mating behaviours. These behaviours are robust, adaptive, and particularly amenable to genetic analysis.
Additional information on Barry Dickson's research
Northwestern University
Research Summary: Dr. Woolley's research focuses on steroid regulation of synaptic structure and function and the consequences of steroid-driven synaptic modulation for behavior. Two majro research ideas are: 1) that estrogens are produced not only in periphery as hormones but also directly within the brain as neurosteroids that rapidly modulate synaptic function and behavior; and 2) that some mechanisms of synaptic modulation in non-reproductive parts of the brian differ between the sexes, which is important for understanding how experience or interventions, such as drugs, affect males and females differently.
Additional information on Catherine Woolley's research
Drexel University Medical Center
Research Summary: Dr. Clegg's research is focused on understanding the impact of sex hormones on energy homeostasis, metabolic function and adipose tissue distribution, which ultimately will enhance our understanding of the role of estrogen in protecting against diseases associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Specifically, her lab researches whether androgens and estrogens are involved in the modulation of the major bioenergetic and/or biosynthetic pathways that normally support energy homeostasis and adipose tissue function.
Additional information on Deborah Clegg's researchPlease save the date and plan to join us Wednesday, September 25 at 8:00 AM for the 2019 Gill Symposium and Awards at Indiana University Bloomington.
If you have any questions about the 2019 Symposium, please contact us!
