Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.

Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Search
  • In Person

The New Science of Women’s Brain Health: How Menopause Shapes Memory, Mood, and Cognitive Function

Register Now
Add to Calendar

Add to Calendar

Download
Office 365
Google Calendar
Tue Mar 24, 2026

Date

Tue Mar 24, 2026
5:00pm – 6:00pm MDT

Location

Paepcke Auditorium
1000 N. Third Street
Aspen, CO

Contact

    [email protected]
    970.544.7970

Hosts

  1. Aspen Community Programs

Presented as part of the Advancing Women’s Health Series.

Featuring Dr. Emily Jacobs, neuroscientist and professor at UC Santa Barbara, whose groundbreaking research examines how hormonal changes across the female lifespan influence brain function and structure. Dr. Jacobs will explore how estrogen and other sex hormones affect the brain, and what happens when those hormones begin to decline during perimenopause and menopause. Drawing from advanced brain imaging research, she’ll explain how hormonal transitions can impact memory, mood, and long-term cognitive health, and why understanding these changes is essential to supporting women’s health in midlife and beyond. Dr. Jacobs will also highlight the historical gaps in brain research that have left women underrepresented and underserved, and how a new generation of science is working to close that gap. This series is generously sponsored by Meredith Loring and Sami Inkinen.
Paepcke Auditorium, doors at 4:30 pm

Registration
While attendance at this event is free and open to everyone, registration is required, and capacity is established on a first-come, first-served basis.
Register Here

Parking
Parking is very limited. Please carpool, walk, bike, or ride RFTA.

Dr. Emily Jacobs is a Professor of Neuroscience at UC Santa Barbara and Director of the Ann S. Bowers Women’s Brain Health Initiative. Her body of research is redefining our understanding of the brain’s capacity to undergo dynamic neuroanatomical changes and plasticity well into adulthood. In 2024 her team published the first detailed map of the human brain across pregnancy and she leads several multi-center studies on neurological changes tied to menopause. Prior to UCSB, she held a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School and the Department of Medicine/Division of Women’s Health at Brigham & Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Jacobs’ serves on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Women’s Brain Health, the Milken Institute’s Women’s Health Network, the Foundation for Women’s Health, and the WHAM Research Collaborative to drive the national and international agenda on women’s health research. Outside the lab, Dr. Jacobs’ team partners with K-12 groups to advance girls’ representation in STEM. She is a graduate of Smith College and UC Berkeley. You can find her work in the The New York Times, National Geographic, Scientific American, NPR, BBC, TED, Netflix, and MasterClass.

Support Aspen Community Programs

Did you know that we host more than 70 days of public programming each year? If you appreciate what we do for the Aspen community, we invite you to become more involved with the Institute by joining as an Aspen Community Donor today. Your contribution will support affordable year-round programming for the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond, as well as scholarships for those in need. Learn more here.