Can sex hormones save us from dementia? PhD student Josien de Bie is studying what hormones do to the metabolism of sick and healthy brain cells and what that means for treatment of mental health disorders in men and women. And now, her work has seen her named as a finalist at the recent Amplify Festival Bright Sparks PhD Pitch Competition.
“Women are more likely to suffer from depression and men are more likely to get diseases such as Parkinson’s and MND and researchers don’t know why,” said Josien.
Josien explains the thing that makes us men and women in the first place are our sex hormones, which are often blamed for mood swings and wild behaviour. “But what do we really know about the effect of hormones on the brain?” she asks. “I always argue that ‘being hormonal’ is ‘not actually a thing’!”
Josien says that even though a lot of diseases affect both men and women differently, most research is conducted on males.
“This means that essentially, women are medically treated as if they were men. By understanding the interactions of sex hormones with our physiology we may also unlock a new mechanism for treatment,” she said.
As an Amplify Festival Bright Sparks PhD Pitch Competition finalist, Josien is now crowdfunding her research with the hope that if she reaches her goal, she will receive an additional $1000 from Amplify.