There is much to learn about the biology underlying sex and gender development, and how sex differences result in higher or lower incidences of disease and responses to treatments. Check these links to learn about WashU investigators who study sex differences, published findings, and additional resources related to sex and gender.
Glossary
- Assigned sex: determination made at a person’s birth based on an infant’s anatomy and/or sex chromosomes.
- Cisgender: when one’s gender identity and assigned sex coincide with societal norms (e.g., man and male).
- Gender identity: a label used to describe one’s identity within a given society’s understanding of gender.
- Nonbinary: a person who does not subscribe to conventional gender categories but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of genders. Related terms include genderqueer, gender fluid, and more.
- Transgender: when gender identity and sex do not coincide with societal norms.
*from Rubin JD, Atwood S, Olson KR, “Studying Gender Diversity” (2020), Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Resources
Nature, Collection of opinion articles on sex and gender in research
- “Sex and gender in science: How to navigate a challenging area of research to the benefit of all” (2024)
National Academies Consensus Study Report
Commentaries on sex and gender in neuroscience research
- “Neuroscience and Sex/Gender: Looking Back and Forward” | The Journal of Neuroscience (Viewpoints), 2020
- “Studying Gender Diversity” | Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2020
- “Reporting and misreporting of sex differences in the biological sciences” | eLife, 2021
From the 2019 Transgender Spectrum Conference
Publications from WashU authors
Estradiol protects against pain-facilitated fentanyl use via suppression of opioid-evoked dopamine activity in males
Higginbotham JA, Abt JG, Teich RH, Dearman JJ, Lintz T, Morón JA. Neuron. March 10, 2025.
Chromosomal and gonadal sex have differing effects on social motivation in mice
Chaturvedi SM, Sarafinovska S, Selmanovic D, McCullough KB, Swift RG, Maloney SE, Dougherty JD. (2025) Biology of Sex Differences, 16 (1), p. 13
Robust Cluster Prediction Across Data Types Validates Association of Sex and Therapy Response in GBM
Gibbs DL, Cioffi G, Aguilar B, Waite KA, Pan E, Mandel J, Umemura Y, Luo J, Rubin JB, Pot D, Barnholtz-Sloan J. (2025) Cancers, 17 (3), art. no. 445
Brain dynamics reflecting an intra-network brain state are associated with increased post-traumatic stress symptoms in the early aftermath of trauma
Sendi MSE, Fu Z, Harnett NG, van Rooij SJH, Vergara V, Pizzagalli DA, Daskalakis NP, House SL…Stevens JS, Calhoun VD, Ressler KJ. (2025) Nature Mental Health, art. no. 129
Decreased voluntary alcohol intake and ventral striatal epigenetic and transcriptional remodeling in male Acss2 KO mice
Egervari G, Donahue G, Cardé NAQ, Alexander DC, Hogan C, Shaw JK, Periandri EM, Fleites V , De Biasi M, Berger SL.(2025) Neuropharmacology, 265, art. no. 110258