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Hormones and Nerves In Sex-Specific Physiology
Biological sex is one of nature's most robust variables. We study sex differences and hormone-responsive nodes in the brain and peripheral tissues that maintain metabolic, skeletal, and gut physiology in females to address the significant gaps in women's health.
Bone Loss: Over a decade ago, we discovered that the female brain makes a potent circulating hormone that builds bone (Herber, Krause, et al., 2019). In a team study with the Ambrosi lab at UC Davis, we identified this bone-building factor as CCN3, which is made in the brains of lactating mothers to help with the significant bone loss during milk production. With funding from NIA and an SF Bay Area Biotech venture, we seek to reverse skeletal aging.
Movement, Excretion and Pelvic Pain: We have identified an estrogen-responsive brain circuit in the hypothalamus that increases exploratory movement (Krause et al., 2021, NYT Article). We recently showed that this neural circuit suppresses excretion and pelvic pain, a finding that is highly relevant to urinary and fecal incontinence. See bioRxiv preprint by Cabrera-Zapata et al. 7/27/26.
Functional Gut Disorders: With funding from NIDDK, our team defined the major cell type that drives the gut-brain dialog for propagating intestinal visceral pain (Bayrer, Castro, et al., 2023). Our newest work delineates how estrogen signaling amplifies gut pain in females; see Venkataraman, Figueroa et al. Science 2025 as it relates to functional gut disorders (IBS), a condition that disproportionately affects young women of reproductive age.
IRACDA Scholars Program: Ingraham also directs the NIGMS-funded UCSF IRACDA Program, whose mission is to train the next generation of biomedical researchers.