Current Position: 5th year PhD Candidate in Cognitive Neuroscience
Hometown: Sherman Oaks, California (Born in Ukraine)
What is your research about? Receptors for women’s sex hormones (which greatly fluctuate week-to-week) are located all throughout the body and brain. They affect our behavior, decision making and emotions. However, research on this influence of sex hormones in women is often overlooked and understudied because it is difficult to control for. In fact, much of what we know in behavioral neuroscience in animal models is performed strictly on males. My research aims to understand how these female sex hormones interact with our stress response - and how this relationship influences changes in our brain, body, and behavior.
Why did you decide to join PWA? I attended a virtual “Get to know PWA” mixer and instantly felt a great vibe with the leaders and members of the club. I felt that I was surrounded by like-minded women who were all there to form authentic connections and knew that this is something that I wanted to be a part of.
What are you loving right now? I am grateful that this extremely tough time of societal trauma, global anxiety, and isolation has pushed me to go out of my way to strengthen my connections with friends and family. Although separated by distance, it has brought my friends and I closer in communication and vulnerability. Right now, I’m loving taking time to focus on self improvement and fostering openness and honesty with myself, my loved ones, and even those who I am not yet familiar with.
