Dr. Ycaza Herrera is a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. Her research focuses on the ability of estradiol to modulate the cortisol response in women. To investigate how ovarian hormone levels modulate the adrenal cortisol and progesterone responses to stress, she studies post-menopausal women using and not using estradiol therapy, pre-menopausal women not using hormonal contraceptives during various points of the natural menstrual cycle, and women using hormonal contraceptives during the different phases of the hormonal contraceptive cycle. She also is interested whether the influence of ovarian hormones on the stress response alters the typical effects of stress on cognition.