Rachel Fruchtmann

Graduate Student

Advisor

Research Area

Developmental and Evolutionary Psychology

Biography

Rachel Fruchtmann is a first-year Ph.D. student in Psychological & Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working with James Roney in the Developmental & Evolutionary Psychology area. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Davis, where she graduated with highest honors. At UC Davis, Rachel was engaged with various labs across developmental, social, and biological psychology, studying stress, social cognition, and women's mental health. Outside of research, she enjoys reading novels, hiking, swimming, walking the beach, and power- and weightlifting.

Research

Rachel is interested in the intersection of reproductive neuroendocrinology and women's mental health from an evolutionary psychology perspective. Her research interests center on how ovarian hormones influence the brain and behavior and how reproductive physiology, as well as individual differences, may contribute to variation in mood, motivation, and affective symptoms across populations and the reproductive lifespan. However, she is particularly interested in researching psychological changes across the menstrual cycle.

Research keywords: reproductive neuroendocrinology, ovarian hormones, menstrual cycle, woments mental health, mood and affect, sex differences, evolutionary psychology, behavioral endocrinology, neuroendocrinology