Free activities and events in New York City

Lecture “Hormone-Responsive Neural Circuits and Why They Matter for Women’s Health”

Published: May 9, 2026; Aithor: Julia Sonrisa

Registration for this lecture will close at 2 p.m. the day of the event. Review the complete list of entrance requirements below.

This lecture is part of the Brain and Body: Communication and Connection Presidential Lecture Series in Neuroscience and Autism Science

Despite recent biomedical breakthroughs, progress in women’s health has been slow. A key barrier to understanding disorders that disproportionately affect women is our limited knowledge of how estrogen works beyond traditional reproductive tissue, particularly in the brain.

In this Presidential Lecture, Holly Ingraham will present new studies that show how sex-specific, hormone-responsive neural circuits control brain—body physiology. She will further provide a framework for closing knowledge and therapeutic gaps in women’s health.

Ingraham is the Herzstein Endowed Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on sex differences and hormone-responsive nodes in the brain that regulate female physiology. Through question-driven basic science, Ingraham seeks to uncover how females adapt to hormonal fluctuations throughout their lives. She is a founder of a biotech venture focused on alleviating age-related frailty and skeletal decline. Ingraham is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.

Registration requirements

• You must be 18+ to attend this event
• Registration will close at 2:00 p.m. the day of the event
• Please only register yourself and use your complete first and last name as it appears on your photo ID when filling in the form.
• Tickets under the same name do not count as registrations for others and each ticket must be registered under an individual attendee’s name. If you have a guest you would like to bring with you to this event, please send them the link to register so they can sign up on their own.
• Please note that the Simons Foundation will never ask for credit card information or require payment for registration to our free public events.

Building entry protocol

• Provide a valid photo ID
• Present your digital or printed Eventbrite ticket confirmation; make sure it is for the correct event and that the name on it matches your ID.
• Limited seating is available for this in-person event and is on a first-come, first-served basis.
• All attendees must be pre-registered. Walk-in entry will be denied.

Please note that by entering the Simons Foundation, you are attesting that you are not experiencing COVID symptoms and are not knowingly positive for COVID.

Schedule

Doors open: 5:30 p.m. (No entrance before 5:30 p.m.)

Lecture: 6:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. (Admittance closes at 6:20 p.m.)

The Gerald D. Fischbach Auditorium complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and offers accessible seating to visitors with special access needs.

Presidential Lectures are free public colloquia at the Simons Foundation centered on four main themes: Biology, Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Neuroscience and Autism Science. These curated, high-level scientific talks feature leading scientists and mathematicians and are intended to foster discourse and drive discovery among the broader NYC-area research community. We invite anyone interested in the topic to join us for this weekly lecture series.

Free!

Registration

Detailed information and discussion of the event.