Women and men are represented differently in medicine and research - this fact is increasingly being recognised by society, but also by scientists and in teaching. It has been proven, for example, that the symptoms of a heart attack manifest themselves differently in men and women. However, as research in the past was primarily conducted on men, this fact remained undiscovered for a long time. But this is not the only reason why it is important for researchers to critically analyse different gender perspectives in their work. Because in every challenge there is also an opportunity.

Together with the Center of Medical Biotechnology and the Essen College of Gender Research, the Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MRI is now launching the lecture series ‘Sex and Gender in the Life Sciences’, which deals with precisely these topics. Over the next months, the focus will be on issues such as gender sensitivity in medicine, the inclusion of gender identities in addiction research and how skin cells communicate with each other on a gender-specific basis. The ELH networks involved include ‘FOR 2974: Affective and Cognitive Mechanisms of Specific Internet-Use Disorders’ (Matthias Brand), ‘SFB 1280: Extinction Learning’ (Dagmar Timmann) and ‘TRR 289: Treatment Expectation’ (Ulrike Bingel).

From 14 May 2024, there will then be a lecture on a related topic on a monthly basis. Participation in the lectures is free of charge, the events will take place online via Zoom. More information about the initiative and an overview of the programme can be found here. [Link]