Dr. Eisenlohr-Moul is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at UIC, and holds an additional courtesy appointment in the Department of Psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized fellowship training in the pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of hormone-related psychiatric disorders-- particularly premenstrual disorders.
As a scientist, she works primarily with mechanistic randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and longitudinal observation studies to clarify how ovarian steroids alter transdiagnostic RDoC constructs (e.g., arousal, processing of loss or threat) and related phenotypes (particularly suicidality and alcohol use) in susceptible females. Her NIMH-funded clinical trials (K99109667; R00MH109667; RF1MH120843) examine the effects of natural changes in neuroactive steroids (vs. exogenous steroid stabilization) on mechanisms of proximal suicide risk during the perimenstrual weeks of the menstrual cycle. She has also been awarded a NARSAD Young Investigator Grant to evaluate the role of the immune system in these effects.
Recently, she has also engaged in collaborative grants to study the role of the menstrual cycle in (1) adolescent suicidal ideation and behavior (R01MH122446; Role: Principal Investigator), (2) alcohol use (R21AA028736; Role: consultant), and (3) symptoms of ADHD (R01MH119119; Role: Co-I). She is passionate about training and empowering others to conduct rigorous scientific work on the menstrual cycle and mental health.
Over the past five years, she has also volunteered as the Chair of the Clinical Advisory Board at the International Association for Premenstrual Disorders (IAPMD), a nonprofit that seeks to educate patients, health care providers, and scientists about premenstrual disorders, and to advocate for scientific, healthcare, and policy progress in this area. This work has culminated in the organization’s recent receipt of a 2021 PCORI stakeholder convening grant to bring together scientific, healthcare, and patient stakeholders to discuss the current state of the premenstrual disorders landscape and make recommendations for patient-informed science in this area as the field moves forward.
The combination of her scientific contributions and advocacy work has established her as an international expert in the pathophysiology, assessment, and treatment of premenstrual dysphoric disorder and cyclical exacerbation of other psychiatric disorders.