Seminar – Toni Pak, PhD – “Estrogen Receptor β and the Aging Brain: Towards a Molecular Rationale for Hormone Replacement Therapy”

Toni Pak, PhD
Loyola University Chicago Health Science Division, Stritch School of Medicine

About the Speaker: The central theme of our research focuses on the molecular signaling mechanisms and target genes of nuclear steroid receptors. Elucidating the molecular basis of nuclear steroid receptor-mediated gene expression is critical to understanding how steroid hormones modulate a variety of physiological processes including social behaviors, sexual maturation and senescence, reproductive function, and stress responses. Currently in my laboratory I have two distinct, but related, NIH-funded research projects. The first project focuses on defining and identifying novel molecular signaling mechanisms that facilitate estrogen independent activation of ER in neurons during menopause. We have evidence to suggest that ER alters its mode of action depending on the bioavailability of estrogen, raising the possibility that during the normal aging process ER differentially regulates its target genes. The second project focuses on identifying the interactive effects of alcohol and estrogen on AVP during pubertal development in order to better understand why women are predisposed to increased risk of anxiety disorders.

For Further Information: Contact Teresa Palumbo at 608.263.5837 or palumbo@waisman.wisc.edu

The seminar series is funded by the John D. Wiley Conference Center Fund, the Friends of the Waisman Center and NIH grant U54 HD090256.