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
Immune cell analysis of pilocytic astrocytomas reveals sexually dimorphic brain region-specific differences in T-cell content
Chen J, Sinha N, Cobb O, Liu C, Ersen A, Phillips JJ, Tihan T, Gutmann DH, Dahiya S (2021), Neuro-Oncology Advances
Integrase Inhibitors are Associated with Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Women with HIV
Rubin LH, O’Halloran JA, Williams DW, Li Y, Fitzgerald KC, Dastgheyb R, Damron AL, Maki PM, Spence AB, Sharma A, Gustafson DR, Milam J, Weber KM, Adimora AA, Ofotokun I, Fischl MA, Konkle-Parker, Xu Y (2022), Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology
A prospective examination of sex differences in posttraumatic autonomic functioning
Seligowski AV, Steuber ER, Hinrichs R, Reda MH, Wiltshire CN, Wanna CP, Winters SJ, Phillips KA, House SL, Beaudoin F:, An X, Stevens JS, Zeng D, Neylan TC, Clifford GD, Linnstaedt SD, Germine LT, Bollen KA, Guffanti G, Rauch SL, Haran JP, Storrow AB, Lewandowski C, Musey Jr PI, Hendry PL, Sheikh S, Jones CW, Punches BE, Kurz MC, Murty VP, McGrath ME, Hudak LA, Pascual JL, Seamon MJ, Datner EM, Chang AM, Pearson C, Peak DA, Merchant RC, Domeier RM, Rathlev NK, O’Neil BJ, Sanchez LD, Bruce SE, Miller MW, Pietrzak RH, Joormann J, Barch DM, Pizzagalli DA, Sheridan JF, Luna B, Harte SE, Elliott JM, Koenen KC, Kessler RC, McLean SA, Ressler KJ, Tanja Jovanovic T (2021), Neurobiology of Stress
Measurement of gender and sexuality in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study
Potter AS, Dube SL, Barrios LC, Bookheimer S, Espinoza A , Feldstein Ewing SW, Freedman EG, Hoffman EA, Ivanova M, Jefferys H, McGlade EC, Tapert SF, Johns MM (2022), Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Independently validated sex-specific nomograms for predicting survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma: NRG Oncology RTOG 0525 and 0825
Patil N, Somasundaram E, Waite KA, Lathia JD, Machtay M, Gilbert MR, Connor JR, Rubin JB, Berens ME, Buerki RA, Choi S, Sloan AE, Penas-Prado M, Ashby LS, Blumenthal DT, Werner-Wasik M, Hunter GK, Flickinger JC, Wendland MM, Panet-Raymond V, Robins HI, Pugh SL, Mehta MP, Barnholtz-Sloan JS (2021), Journal of Neuro-Oncology