Professor of Psychology Fay Guarraci, along with several students and alumni, published an article titled “Chronic testosterone enanthate or estradiol benzoate affects sexual behavior and motivation in Long-Evans rats tested for partner preference” in Physiology and Behavior. This work was supported by summer research programs (SCOPE ’24 and SURF ’25) and conducted by psychology and biology capstone students. Raylee Bowling ’27 is first author, followed by Chance Bauer ’26, Iva Irabor-Ighedosa ’26, Kai Wilson ’26, and Anna Pavlova ’28. Alumna Alex Avila ’25 and visiting scholar Kole Petersen, a student from Colorado College, were also co-authors. This project tested a model of gender-affirming hormone therapy in an animal model.

Professor of Psychology Fay Guarraci and psychology alumnus Ian Klepcyk ’24 collaborated with colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin to finally complete a four year long project that was accepted for publication in Hormones and Behavior, titled “Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the expression of multiple genes in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland with a different pattern of expression in female and male Long-Evans rats.” This project is one of the first studies to investigate changes in the brain associated with exposure to puberty blockers for a prolonged period of time in an animal model.

Professor of Psychology Fay Guarraci co-chaired and presented a workshop at the annual meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology, titled “Moving Forward: A Workshop on Issues Facing Transgender Research (Models, Community, and Funding),” in addition to a poster presentation, titled “Chronic periadolescent leuprolide exposure affects the expression of multiple genes in the hypothalamus and pituitary gland with a different pattern of expression in female and male Long-Evans rats,” co-authored by psychology graduate Ian Klepcyk ’24.

Recent graduate Ian Klepcyk ’24 and Professor of Psychology Fay Guarraci published one of two submitted entries in the Encyclopedia of Sexual Psychology and Behavior, published by Springer. This entry also includes videos Ian filmed in the lab as a companion to the written submission. The entry can be read here.

Professor of Psychology Fay Guarraci was invited to give a talk at the symposium titled Gender Incongruence at the 63rd annual meeting of the European Society of Pediatric Endocrinology in den Hague, Netherlands, in September. The talk “Animal Models of Transgender Care: Advantages and Drawbacks” was well received by a mostly clinical audience.