Overview

        The Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology (LNE) is a unit of the UCLA Brain Research Institute comprising 17 faculty laboratories with a common interest in neuroendocrinology, sex differences, and reproduction The LNE fosters education and collaborative research in neuroendocrinology and sex differences, especially in areas concerning reproduction and disease. The activities of the LNE include graduate and undergraduate courses in neuroendocrinology, the weekly brown-bag seminar on current topics in neuroendocrinology, active research collaboration among labs, opportunities for students at all levels, and the annual Charles Sawyer lectureship in neuroendocrinology.

       The educational activities of the LNE have been funded continuously since 1980 by an NIH training grant, "Neuroendocrinology, Sex Differences, and Reproduction." Research of the faculty spans all analytical levels, from the molecular to the behavioral. Research interests include sex determination and sexual differentiation, hormonal regulation of neural function, gender differences in disease, cellular and molecular analysis of neural development, circadian rhythms, neural regulation of gonadal and adrenal function, glial neurobiology, stress, aging, neuroendocrine immunology, molecular genetics of the sex chromosomes, and genetic approaches. Although the main focus is on basic research in neuroendocrinology, some faculty are also involved in direct analysis of human disease and clinical trials to develop new neuroendocrine therapies.