Julia Cox

Julia Cox is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, where she investigates how sex-based differences impact health outcomes and neural mechanisms of decision-making.

Her research focuses on:

• Sex differences in disease prevalence and treatment response driven by genetic variations
• Neural substrates of sex-dependent motivation and avoidance learning
• Dopamine signaling in nucleus accumbens and VTA circuits
• Decision-making processes influenced by past experiences
• Neural engineering approaches like wireless optogenetics

Dr. Cox's publication record demonstrates a strong neuroscience focus with 13 of 14 recent articles examining sex differences, neural circuits, and behavioral mechanisms. Her Nature Neuroscience publication revealed novel neural mechanisms underlying sex differences in motivation. The sole non-neuroscience publication (2000) in materials science suggests early-career interdisciplinary work, but her current research is exclusively neuroscience-oriented with emphasis on translational implications for personalized medicine.