Stephanie Correa

Stephanie Correa is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, within the College of Letters and Science. She leads a research program focused on neural circuits that control temperature, energy expenditure, and feeding behavior, with particular emphasis on sex-specific differences in these physiological processes.

Dr. Correa's research interests center on neuroendocrinology and the role of estrogen signaling in the hypothalamus. Her work explores how estrogen receptor alpha regulates temperature control, energy expenditure, and feeding behavior through specific neural circuits. She investigates sex differences in physiology, examining how reproductive states interact with metabolic regulation. Her research has significant implications for understanding menopause, hot flashes, and metabolic disorders that differ between sexes.

Her publications reveal a strong focus on hypothalamic function, particularly the medial preoptic area and ventromedial hypothalamus, and their roles in thermoregulation, energy balance, and reproductive physiology. She has made important contributions to understanding how estrogen signaling in specific neuronal populations mediates physiological responses.

• Estrogenic modulation of neural circuits that control temperature (NIH R01AG066821, 2020-2025)
• Understanding the effects of adjuvant endocrine therapy on thermoregulation (NIH R21CA249338, 2020-2022)
• A female-specific neuroendocrine center controlling energy expenditure (NIH K01DK098320, 2013-2017)