Rutgers Women’s Brain Health Initiative (RWBHI) Plenary Seminar (Virtual): Jennifer S. Stevens, PhD

“Neuroendocrine contributors to traumatic stress: Understanding women’s risk”

Plenary Seminar: Jennifer S. Stevens, PhD
Co-Director, The Grady Trauma Project
Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Emory University School of Medicine
Investigator, Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation
Atlanta VA Health Care System

Date and Time: Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 12:00 PM (EST)

Join Zoom Meeting: https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/94401127117?pwd=EEkh3qdxGpKIFzpefpYdstiLR3y8St.1
Meeting ID: 944 0112 7117  | Passcode: 092926

Dr. Stevens’ earlier work from the Grady Trauma Project identified a polymorphism in the PACAP receptor gene that contributes to risk for PTSD among women but not men. Further developments in this line of research provide one of the best-studied biological explanations for the gender disparity in PTSD diagnosis. The lab recently observed that childhood trauma predicts decreased behavioral-inhibition-related mPFC and hippocampal function in women with PTSD but does not impact function in resilient women who experienced trauma but do not have PTSD. The newest studies in the lab address 1) associations between menstrual cycle hormones and brain-based signatures of stress vulnerability in young women, 2) longitudinal changes in neural structure and function over perimenopause, and 3) maternal responses to infant cues in the early postpartum window. Additional seminar details will be available soon. Learn more

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