A member of the Everyday Health Wellness Advisory Board, Bruce McEwen, PhD, is the former Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at the Rockefeller University in New York City, where he leads research on the effects of sex, stress, and hormones on the brain. A prominent neuroscientist, Dr. McEwen is widely regarded as a pioneering researcher and one of the world’s authorities on stress. In 1968, his laboratory at Rockefeller University found adrenal steroid receptors in the hippocampus — a groundbreaking discovery that put the brain front and center in our understanding of the complex interactions of acute or chronic stress and the human body. We sat down with McEwen to discuss his current work and to learn more about his perspective on wellness.
What are you working on now?
Novel antidepressants that act rapidly on a subtype of major depression; repurposing a drug, riluzole, to slow down Alzheimer’s disease; basic research regarding the effects of stress on the brain; and sex differences in stress effects on the brain.
Dr. McEwen on Stress
We all need to be better informed about stress. What should we know to increase our stress IQ?
A large part of how stress affects us is through our adopting health-damaging behaviors involving diet, alcohol, smoking, lack of exercise, social isolation, and poor sleep. We need to change those behaviors.
Dr. McEwen on Resilience
How do you define resilience?
Resilience is the ability to achieve a successful outcome in the face of adversity. It requires flexibility and a positive outlook based on learning from prior experience solving difficult problems.
We all at one time or another have a life experience that challenges our resilience. Can you describe what you learned about your own resilience after such an experience?
I learned to be more empathetic toward others who go through comparable experiences. It made me a better person.
