Brain researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center have been awarded a nearly $3 million grant to study the impact of estrogen on brain regulation.
The MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health’s Institute on Aging will fund continued work on understanding the transition of menopause and its bioenergetic capacity in the brain.
Researchers are studying how estrogen acts to promote and sustain the brain’s energy-producing system, particularly in age-associated neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s in postmenopausal women.
A spokesperson for UA Health Sciences says the research is unique in exploring the mechanisms underlying gene expression in the maturing female brain.