This award provides transition funding at the end of her postdoctoral training to support the move into a tenure-track faculty position and includes a $600,000 three-year faculty research grant. Melissa Walsh, Ph.D., is currently a research trainee in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Simon’s Foundation award supports her research vision to examine how the female brain adapts to menopause and aging, with a focus on hormonal mechanisms that promote synaptic maintenance and cognitive resilience.
“I’m honored to receive this award from the Simons Foundation, which will provide critical support as I go on the job market, secure a tenure-track position, and establish my independent research program. My long-term goal is to advance understanding of how menopause impacts brain aging and to develop strategies that promote cognitive health for women across the lifespan.”