Lisa Mosconi, PhD

Dr. Lisa Mosconi is one of the nine 2020 WAM Research Grants Recipients with a strong focus on how women’s reproductive systems may be connected to their risk for Alzheimer’s. This study expands on prior work to look at aspects of a woman’s reproductive cycle other than menopause as risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s. She will be asking whether the age at which menopause occurs might be relevant, as well as things like the age of menarche (onset of menstruation,) the number of pregnancies, and the use of birth control. As a granddaughter and a niece of Alzheimer’s, and the daughter of two scientists, Dr. Mosconi is dedicating her research to closing the gap around women’s brains and helping to find a cure or a way to prevent women from developing the disease.

More about Dr. Lisa Mosconi

Dr. Lisa Mosconi, PhD, is the founder and director of the Women’s Brain Initiative, associate director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic, and associate professor of Neuroscience in Neurology and Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. She also is an adjunct faculty member at the Department of Psychiatry of NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Mosconi holds a PhD degree in Neuroscience and Nuclear Medicine. A world-renowned neuroscientist, she is ranked amongst the top 1% of scientists of the past 20 years by official metrics, and was listed as one of the 17 most influential living female scientists by The Times. 

Dr. Mosconi’s research is focused on the early detection and prevention of cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease in at-risk individuals, especially women, using brain imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dr. Mosconi is passionately interested in how risk of memory loss and dementia can be prevented through the combination of appropriate medical care and lifestyle modifications involving diet, physical and intellectual fitness. She is the New York Times bestselling author of THE XX BRAIN (2020) and of BRAIN FOOD (2018), which have been published in over 25 countries and translated into more than 15 languages. Dr. Mosconi’s TED talk “How menopause affects the brain” has been viewed over 2 million times in the first four months since its release.

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