Dr. Sheila Shanmugan has been selected as a 2026 grantee of the Foundation for Women’s Health, supporting innovative research at the University of Pennsylvania. Her project investigates sex-specific pathways underlying elevated depression risk in adolescent girls, examining how early adversity shapes functional brain networks involved in reward processing and emotion regulation. Leveraging large-scale longitudinal data, neuroimaging, and machine learning, this work aims to id

Congratulations to Noemí Rubau Apa for winning the Stellar Award at the Undergraduate Neuroscience Student Research Symposium! This award, part of the program’s annual prizes honoring top Neuroscience students, recognizes outstanding excellence in honors thesis presentation and overall academic achievement. Named after Dr. Eliot Stellar, former Penn professor and provost who helped establish the Neuroscience Program, the prize highlights the remarkable accomplishments of a ne

Noemí Rubau Apa has been selected to receive the Louis H. Castor, M.D., C’48 Undergraduate Research Grant through the College Alumni Society—a highly competitive CURF award granted to only 12 Penn undergraduates this cycle. The award supports her senior thesis, “Topographical Alignment of Neurotransmitter Systems and Maternal Brain Plasticity,” funding the spring semester portion of her research. This grant recognizes projects with strong relevance to family medicine and tran

We are proud to share that Bayan Galal has been awarded the 2026 Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, a highly competitive and prestigious award supporting outstanding immigrants and children of immigrants pursuing graduate education. Bayan will use this fellowship to continue her medical training at the University of Pennsylvania. Bayan’s work spans clinical care, public health research, and health systems design, with a focus on improving access and continuity o

We are excited to share that Dr. Laura Pritschet has been named a 2025 WHAM (Women’s Health Access Matters) Edge Award recipient. This award will support her collaborative work with Dr. Shanmugan, using clinical brain imaging to map pregnancy-related brain trajectories across the perinatal period. Dr. Pritschet is one of just ten scientists selected for this prestigious award, which advances research in critical and historically understudied areas of women’s health. Congratul

Noemí Rubau Apa was awarded second place in the Lucid Science Challenge for her project, “Toward Personalized Brain-Based Prevention in Perinatal Psychiatry: Mapping Risk, Resilience, and Intervention Targets Across Pregnancy.” The work highlights ongoing research in the TReNDS Lab. The multi-stage competition included abstract selection for the Penn National Research Conference, submission of a full grant proposal, and finalist selection. In the final round, Noemí delivered

One in five women face a perinatal mood disorder during or after pregnancy. On the "Making Sense of Pregnancy" podcast, Dr. Shanmugan shares how new brain imaging tools may help us better predict who is most at risk—paving the way for more personalized and supportive care in the future. Listen to the full episode HERE.

"Toward Personalized Clinical Interventions for Perinatal Depression: Leveraging Precision Functional Mapping" (Pritschet et al., 2025) was recently featured in The New York Times! The Times highlights our research in Science Advances, which presents our recommendations for neuroimaging methods that can lead toward earlier prediction and more personalized care for perinatal mood disorders. Read the full article HERE.

Dr. Shanmugan presented her work on personalized reproductive psychiatry using precision functional mapping as a part of the Ann S. Bowers Women's Brain Health Initiative webinar series. This series was created to advance women's brain health through collaborative science. You can watch Dr. Shanmugan's talk HERE!

The National Reproductive Psychiatry Trainee Interest Group is the largest reproductive psychiatry trainee interest group in the country and disseminates reproductive psychiatry resources, conferences, research opportunities, and organizes mentorship pairings, as well as residency and fellowship application panels. For more information, please visit the NRPT website.

Recently Dr. Laura Pritschet's incredible work with Dr. Emily Jacobs, UC-Santa Barbara, has been featured in The Washington Post, National Geographic, BBC, and so many more! Her findings have gained so much traction, even becoming the most viewed Nature reel in the journal's history. Click here to read more on her novel findings

Featuring all TReNDS Lab team members, Drs. Arielle Keller and Sheila Shanmugan led the efforts to investigate sex differences in PFNs using ABCD data. Click here for the full article.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund annually recognizes outstanding early-career researchers who have demonstrated exceptional promise across all fields of medical science. Dr. Shanmugan was one of 12 selected recipients. The Career Award for Medical Scientists (CAMS) will accelerate Dr. Shanmugan's transition to an independent faculty and fund her cutting-edge research on women's brain health and reproductive psychiatry. Click here for more detailed coverage.

In an episode of "The Reflective Mind," Dr. Sheila Shanmugan explores how to support women through the menopausal transition. She clarifies the definitions of premenopause, perimenopause, and postmenopause and discusses who may be at greater risk for mood, anxiety, and cognitive changes. Dr. Shanmugan also shares when she recommends estrogen therapy and offers her vision for more personalized care during this important stage of life. You can listen to the full episode HERE!