The big picture: Mary Dallman, a role model

Abstract

Mary Dallman has left a legacy in neuroendocrinology, not only as the scientist who elaborated on new concepts such as rapid corticosteroid feedback pathways, but also as a role model, particularly for women who followed in her footsteps. In this contribution, I compare (i) the remarkable journey she made toward her position as the first female faculty member ever at the physiology department at USCF with that of generations after her; (ii) the contribution of our labs on rapid corticosteroid actions; and, (iii) finally, our experiences with unexpected findings for which one should always keep an open mind, a standpoint that was fervently advocated by Mary Dallman.

Keywords:

• Rapid effects
• corticosterone
• feedback
• metaplasticity
• serendipity
• female

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Consortium on Individual Development (CID), which is funded through the Gravitation program of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO grant 024.001.003)

Notes on contributors

Marian Joëls

Marian Joels is professor in Neurobiology of Environmental Factors at the University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen. She and her group members investigate the effects of stress on the brain, in health and disease, using a variety of techniques, ranging from in vitro electrophysiology in animal models to experimental psychology in humans. In recent years, research efforts have particularly focused on the effects of stress experienced early in life for later life cognitive processing.