Current Research
Epigenetics of Mother-Baby Reactivity and Childhood Experiences (EMBRACE)
This project will examine biological pathways to better understand the how adversity is transmitted intergenerationally, linking genes, experiences, and developmental timing to lifelong outcomes.
HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study (HBCD)
The goal of this study is to better understand and ultimately prevent the harms of prenatal and postnatal exposure to drugs or other adverse environmental conditions, including risk for early substance use, mental disorders, and other behavioral and developmental problems. It will also identify resilience factors that may mitigate some of these adverse outcomes.
SLeep & Mother-Baby Regulation (SLMBR)
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the risk factors that affect the emotional health of women during pregnancy and following childbirth. We want to understand how harmful childhood experiences and problems sleeping affect women’s immune systems and emotional health, and how well babies sleep.
Impact of Protective Factors and Adverse Childhood Experiences on College Students' Health and Well-Being
This study explores the relationship between stressful events during childhood and health and well-being outcomes during adulthood. We are interested in learning about the role of certain risk and protective factors on health outcomes in a sample of college students. We want to study what kinds of factors help individuals deal with stressful life events, as well as those that may be harmful towards improving overall functioning.
Other Collaborations
Dads & Development of Infants in Oklahoma (DADIO)
This project aims to understand how different caregivers influence infant development. As a field, we know a lot about how differences in mothers’ behavior is related to how infant and child health and development. We know much less, however, about how other caregivers contribute directly and indirectly to child outcomes. In particular, it is not clear how fathers support the development of their children and how they might differ from other caregivers like grandparents and step-parents. This project hopes to gain an understanding of how different physiological profiles (stress hormone levels) among family members are related to infant development.
The HATCH Project
Researchers at Oklahoma State University, in collaboration with the Center For Integrative Research on Childhood Adversity are interested in learning more about new mothers and their infants in Oklahoma, especially their health, communities, and family relationships. We are recruiting pregnant women living in or around Tulsa, who will be first-time mothers, and are between the ages of 15 and 45 years old.