Emily Jacobs - New frontiers in women's brain health
Join the speaker for coffee, cookies, and conversation before the talk, starting at 11:45am.
New frontiers in women's brain health
Abstract
Gonadal hormones are potent neuromodulators of learning and memory. Yet, how these tiny molecules shape the structural and functional architecture of the human brain is virtually unknown. Many brain imaging studies miss a central feature of the endocrine system: hormone production ebbs and flows over time. Precision imaging allows us to map the mammalian brain with exquisite temporal resolution. Following individuals across major endocrine transitions, like the circadian cycle, menstrual cycle, and pregnancy, these studies reveal the human brain's capacity for rapid reorganization and hormones' role in shaping this process.
Jacobs' talk also considers why women’s health research is decades behind where it should be. Nowhere is this knowledge gap more visible than in neuroscience, where fewer than 0.5% of brain imaging articles focus on female-specific experiences, including menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, that shape the lives of half the global population (Jacobs Nature 2023). Progress in women’s health will require a global shift in science culture, and that shift has started. Jacobs will examine emerging research programs, public policy changes, and private sector funding opportunities that are shining a floodlight on women’s health, and by doing so are opening up new frontiers for understanding health and disease.
Emily Jacobs, PhD
Professor Jacobs, University of California, Santa Barbara
Emily Jacobs is a Professor of Neuroscience at UC Santa Barbara and Director of the Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative. Her body of research examines dynamic endocrine modulation of the nervous system. In 2024 her team published the first detailed view of the human brain across pregnancy and she leads several multi-center studies on neurological changes tied to menopause. Prior to UCSB, she held a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Medicine/Division of Women's Health at Brigham & Women's Hospital. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Women’s Brain Health, the Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network, the Foundation for Women’s Health, and the WHAM Research Collaborative to drive the national and international agenda on women’s health research. In recognition of her work, she was named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar, a National Institutes of Health Women's Health Fellow, a National Academy of Sciences Frontiers of Science Kavli Fellow and Science News’ “Top 10 Scientists” to watch. Outside of the lab, Dr. Jacobs’ team partners with K-12 groups to advance girls' representation in STEM. You can find her work in the The New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, NPR, BBC, TED, Radiolab, Netflix, and MasterClass. She is a graduate of Smith and UC Berkeley.
Hosted by Emily Chen (Scaffolding of Cognition Team [Ellis Lab])
About the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Seminar Series
The Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute seminar series brings together the Stanford neuroscience community to discuss cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary brain research, from biochemistry to behavior and beyond.
Topics include new discoveries in fundamental neurobiology; advances in human and translational neuroscience; insights from computational and theoretical neuroscience; and the development of novel research technologies and neuro-engineering breakthroughs.
Unless otherwise noted, seminars are held Thursdays at 12:00 noon PT.