معرفی
Jessica Tollkuhn is an Associate Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where she leads the Tollkuhn Lab and serves as Faculty Head of the Single-Cell Biology Shared Resource. Her research investigates how estrogen and testosterone regulate gene expression in the brain through nuclear receptor transcription factors. She focuses on sex differences in gene expression as dynamic readouts of hormone actions across the lifespan and their contributions to biology, behavior, and disease risk.
Education: Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from University of California, San Diego (2006), B.A. in Molecular Biology from Mills College (2000), and postdoctoral training at UC San Francisco (2014).
Research Interests: Her laboratory studies hormone-mediated gene regulation in neural circuits, examining how transient developmental events establish lasting effects on brain function and behavior. Using biochemical, genomic, and behavioral analyses, the lab explores sex-specific gene expression patterns and chromatin modifications in defined neuronal populations, with particular focus on the epigenetic signature of brain sexual differentiation.
Publications: Recent work spans neuroscience, genomics, and hormone biology, with publications addressing single-cell genomics validation, hormone receptor function, neural mechanisms of cancer cachexia, and sex differences research methodology. Articles demonstrate consistent focus on transcriptional regulation, epigenetics, and neuroendocrine interactions.
Awards and Honors:
- The Pershing Square Foundation's MIND Prize (2023)
- Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (2009)
- Barrett Scholarship for Undergraduate Research (2000)
- William Randolph Hearst Fellowship for Women in Science (1999-2000)
- Arthur Vining Davis Science Scholarship (1996-2000)
Leadership: Heads the Single-Cell Biology Shared Resource and maintains collaborations within CSHL's Neuroscience Center and Cancer Center. Research involves genomic analysis of hormone-regulated neurons and behavioral studies in rodent models.
