Nina Miolane, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Electrical and Computer Engineering UC Santa Barbara
Mark D’Esposito, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor
Craig Stark, Ph.D. Chair and Professor Neurobiology UC Irvine
Psychology UC Berkeley
For decades, neuroscience has overlooked a fundamental aspect of human biology: the female brain. The intricate relationships between brain function and hormonal shifts—throughout menstrual cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause, and beyond—have largely remained uncharted. For example, how is it that nearly 70 percent of Alzheimer’s patients are women, yet less than 0.5 percent of neuroimaging studies in the past 30 years have considered female-specific biological factors? These gaps in knowledge aren’t just scientific oversights; they’re barriers to better health outcomes for half the global population. That is why the team at the Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Initiative (Bowers WBHI) is determined to close this research gap with support from the UC Noyce Initiative. A Mission with Global Impact Led by Associate Professor Emily Jacobs, Ph.D. of UC Santa Barbara, Bowers WBHI is reshaping the conversation around women’s brain health. The team uses computational health, artificial intelligence and data-sharing to transform neuroscience. “We’re using the power of the University of California to change the trajectory of neuroscience,” Jacobs said. “By bringing together experts from across the UC system, along with Stanford, Cornell and global collaborators, we’re able to tackle complex challenges in women’s brain health in a way that’s never been done before.” The flagship project of the Bowers WBHI, the WBHI Brain Bank, unites six UC campuses—Berkeley, Irvine, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara—to pool thousands of neuroimaging and health data with the goal of unearthing new discoveries and insight into women’s brain health. Russ Poldrack, Ph.D. and Joshua Buckholtz, Ph.D., of Stanford University, along with Caitlin Taylor, Ph.D., of UC Santa Barbara are working together to spearhead the WBHI Brain Bank in collaboration with personnel from six other campuses. There are planned expansions to include UCLA and UC Davis in the future. Likewise, women's health scholars in Canada and Europe are working with WBHI leadership to build what the team is calling “sister hubs,” creating a global reach for the WBHI Brain Bank. “The University of California has a unique opportunity to lead this effort,” Jacobs said. “Pooling neuroimaging and health data allows us to move beyond a fragmented, piecemeal approach to science. Breakthroughs in women’s brain health will be accelerated if we pool data and expertise across campuses.”
32 Impact Report 2023 - 24 | UC NI
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker