Lisa Mosconi is an Italian American neuroscientist, educator, and author known for her books ''The XX Brain'' and ''Brain Food''. She is the Director of the Women’s Brain Initiative and Director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic, both at
Weill Cornell Medical College
The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with NewY ...
where she is an Associate Professor of Neuroscience in Neurology.
Early life and education
Mosconi was born in Italy and both of her parents are nuclear physicists.
There is a history of Alzheimer's disease in her family which affected her grandmother and her grandmother's two sisters.
She received a five-year university degree in Experimental Psychology and Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Nuclear Medicine from the
University of Florence, in collaboration with
New York University School of Medicine
NYU Grossman School of Medicine is a medical school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1841 and is one of two medical schools of the university, with the other being the Long Island School of ...
. She moved to the United States when she was 24.
Research
Her research focuses on the early detection of
Alzheimer’s disease in at-risk individuals, women in particular.
This is the topic of her book ''The XX Brain'' where she explains that menopause is a neurological as well as hormonal process; she believes in reframing brain health as a vital, yet overlooked component of
women’s health
Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mere ...
.
Her research has shown that women with a specific genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease developed amyloid plaques, linked to the disease, during
perimenopause
Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time in women's lives when menstrual periods stop permanently, and they are no longer able to bear children. Menopause usually occurs between the age of 47 and 54. Medical professionals often d ...
, a time earlier than previously thought.
This research changes the treatment and intervention window for health care professionals trying to prevent Alzheimer’s and chronic diseases that affect people in older age.
She is funded partially via a five-year grant from the
NIH to study Alzheimer’s and women’s brains.
She is a member of the
AARP
AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazin ...
brain health council and is on the Aspen Brain Institute Scientific Advisory Council.
Mosconi's
TED Talk on how menopause affects the brain has been viewed over four million times.
Her book ''The XX Brain'' was a
New York Times bestseller
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
.
Her book ''Brain Food'' discusses which foods are more beneficial for brain health and looks at research which shows that a poor diet and a lack of hydration can be damaging to the brain especially as it gets older.
References
External links
Official websiteThe XX Brain official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosconi, Lisa
Living people
American neuroscientists
21st-century women scientists
American women neuroscientists
American women academics
21st-century American women
Alzheimer's disease researchers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty