Neuroscientist to Speak at Smith Friday, November 13

C. Dominique Toran-Allerand, developmental neuroscientist, will give a talk titled "Estrogen and the Brain: A Hormone for All Seasons" at 4:30 p.m. Friday, November 13, in McConnell Hall, Room B-05. Toran-Allerand's presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be preceded by a public reception starting at 4 p.m.

Toran-Allerand graduated from Smith College in 1955 and from Albany Medical College in 1959. As a developmental neuroscientist at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, she has researched the important but little-known role of estrogen in the development of the brain and in maintaining brain health, with particular relation to learning disabilities, infantile autism, delayed speech and attention deficit disorder.

Specifically, her research has demonstrated the benefit of prophylactic estrogen treatments in preventing or slowing the cognitive disorders associated with Alzheimer's disease. Her work is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, among others, and, has resulted in numerous international speaking engagements and invited presentations. Toran-Allerand received an honorary degree at Smith College graduation ceremony last May.