Gillian Einstein is a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, and cross-appointed with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She holds the inaugural Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women's Brain Health and Aging.

Early life and education

Einstein was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, US. As her father was a member of the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

, her family moved between New York City,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in the History of Art at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Einstein then earned her PhD in 1984, working on neuroanatomy at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

Research and career

Einstein joined Duke University in 1989 as an assistant professor and moved to the Centre for Research on Women's Health at

Women's College Hospital Women's College Hospital is a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in downtown Toronto at the north end of Hospital Row, a section of University Avenue where several major hospitals are located. It currently functions ...

in 2004. In 2006, Einstein established the

’s Collaborative Graduate Program in Women's Health (now known as the Collaborative Specialization in Women's Health). This program is based at the

Dalla Lana School of Public Health Dalla Lana School of Public Health is the school of public health at the University of Toronto, located at the St. George campus in Downtown Toronto. It was founded in 1927, and was home for 50 years to Connaught Laboratories, a manufacturer of ...

, and is affiliated with the Women's College Research Institute (based at the

). Einstein led the program as a Director from 2006 to 2016. In 2007, Einstein edited ''Sex and the Brain'' for

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

. Einstein's work is focussed on women's health, specifically, the anatomy of the female brain. With 72% of Canadian Alzheimer's sufferers being represented by women, Einstein explores why brain disorders like Alzheimer's disproportionately affect women. Einstein's research looks at the relationship between early menopause and decreased estrogen levels, and how this may negatively affect cognition. Further to the differences that gender may play on the human brain, Einstein further posits that the social and cultural context that accompanies being female or male can also have a significant effect on our biology. Einstein has been outspoken on the subject of gender disparity in clinical health research. She participated in the scientific discussion that led to the

US National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

to form policies requiring even gender distribution in cell and animal studies. In 2016, Einstein was awarded the inaugural Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women's Brain Health and Aging. This chair is supported through the Wilfred Posluns' Family Foundation, the

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; ; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. CIHR supports ...

Alzheimer Society of Canada The Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC) is a Canadian health charity for people living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Active in communities right across Canada, the Society partners with Alzheimer Societies in every Canadian provin ...

, and the Ontario Brain Institute.

Personal life

Gillian Einstein is a distant cousin of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Einstein, Gillian Living people Academic staff of the University of Toronto American neuroscientists Canadian neuroscientists American women neuroscientists Canadian women neuroscientists 1952 births University of Pennsylvania alumni Harvard College alumni Articles containing video clips American women academics 21st-century American women