Conference: Workshop on Steroid Hormones and Brain Function

The Workshop on Steroid Hormones and Brain Function is a conference dedicated to bringing together leading researchers from diverse scientific fields, such as neuroscience, endocrinology, immunology, and molecular biology to enhance collaborations and enrich our collective understanding of these complex systems. Steroid hormones are a class of chemical compounds that are naturally produced in all vertebrate animals that affect every cell type and physiological system from embryonic development through advanced age.

The brain is the preeminent coordinator of these chemical signals to regulate everything from molecular processes within the cell to behavioral outcomes. As an example, brain-dependent elevation of the steroid hormone cortisol increases blood glucose levels to support the cellular energy needed to increase heart rate and muscle function when an individual needs to escape from immediate danger.

The conference is strongly committed to inclusion and diversity in science and will encourage participation from scientists and trainees from all genders, ethnicities, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.

The conference originated in 1993 and has provided an important forum for established scientists and their trainees with the common goal to further understanding of the neuroendocrine processes regulating physiology and behavior. The limited attendance of approximately 100 researches facilitates deeper interactions among the participants compared to other scientific conferences.

This year sessions will span topics that include the emerging fields of neuroimmune signaling, neural circuits, environmental influences on brain and behavior, hormone effects on the aging brain, genetics of sex differences, and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis regulation and stress-related behaviors. The meeting will host a dedicated Young Investigator Symposium where talented early career researchers will showcase their work and receive valuable scientific input from established researchers.

The meeting will also host a technical workshop with industry partners to highlight relevant state-of-the art technology, and a grantsmanship workshop for trainees.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.