Bruce S. McEwen, Ph.D., Alfred E. Mirsky Professor, Head, Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University.

Bruce S. McEwen Ph.D. is a neuroscientist who studies how stress affects the brain and body. He discovered stress hormone receptors in the hippocampus that were the gateway for discovering effects of circulating hormones on cognitive function, mood regulation and other functions. A member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health,  he helped to create the concept of “allostatic load” that describes the wear and tear on the body and brain.  He is a member of the National Council on the Developing Child which focuses on biological embedding of early life experiences and promoting healthy brain development.

His talk is titled, “”The Brain on Stress:  Protection vs Damage.”