Elle Murata

Graduate Student

Advisor

Research Area

Cognition, Perception, and Cognitive Neuroscience

Biography

Elle Murata received her B.A. in Neuroscience and Japanese from Middlebury College, where she conducted research on the mechanisms of brain metabolism and long-term potentiation. She worked in healthcare consulting before returning to research in the Division of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/ Harvard Medical School. Elle is driven by the critical need for women’s presence in science, advocating for underrepresented women in STEM, and advancing research that incorporates women’s health factors in neuroscience. Her research explores the impact of menopause, birth control, and reproductive disorders (endometriosis, PCOS) on brain morphology and cognition. Outside of the lab, you can find Elle running by the beach, hiking in the Los Padres National Forest, doing yoga, or hunting down the best food spots along the Central Coast.

Research

The Jacobs Lab investigates the effects of endogenous and exogenous hormones on the structural and functional architecture of the brain, including projects on reproductive aging, the reproductive cycle, and oral contraceptives. My research focus is understanding how ovarian hormone suppression, via a gonadotropin releasing hormone antagonist, impacts the brain and cognition.  

[Sex steroid hormones, neuroendocrine aging, effects of ovarian hormone suppression on brain architecture & cognitive function]