Research
What we do:
At the heart of our research lies a powerful truth: early experiences with parents play a crucial role in shaping emotional and physical health throughout life.
We invite you to be part of an exciting journey that explores how these early moments influence not just your well-being, but also that of future generations.
Our work delves deep into how childhood experiences are woven into our psychology and biology, impacting our lives as we grow and develop. By understanding these connections, we aim to discover innovative ways to enhance well-being at every stage of life—ultimately benefiting both you and your children.
We aim to uncover insights that can transform lives and empower families. Together, we can create pathways to healthier futures for everyone.
How we do it:
Holistic science means using many different methods to get a complete picture.
In our research, we use a variety of tools to answer our questions. These include neuroimaging (like MRI scans), biological samples (such as saliva, stool, blood, and hair), and measures of physiological responses (like heart rate and stomach activity). We also use observations (like questionnaires and watching parent-child interactions) and experiments (such as task-based activities). By combining these methods, we aim to uncover detailed answers to complex questions about how humans develop.
Neuroimaging
Observations
Physiological responses
Biological samples
Experiments
Our projects
Brains and bugs
Our emotional functioning is linked to our gastrointestinal health, particularly in the context of stress. The brain and gut talk to one another through the gut-brain axis, and bugs that live in the gut (the microbiome) play an important role in that conversation. We study how early experiences shape communication across the gut-brain axis with the hope that we can one day influence the conversation.
Representative publications:
Ongoing studies:
Teen Bugs Study is an NIMH-funded study enrolling teens aged 12-16 years to study how gut bugs are linked to the function of reward networks in the brain.
If you are interested in getting more information about the study or want to enroll, click the button below to get started!
Sensations of motherhood
The transition to motherhood is a time of heightened plasticity in adult life. Many different systems in the body and brain are changing rapidly, which can lead to positive outcomes, but also acts as a time of risk for a mother’s mental health. We study how a mother’s childhood experiences impact her transition to motherhood at the level of the brain, body, and her mental health, and how those impacts then affect her child - the next generation. We are currently very interested in how pregnancy impacts a process called interoception - which is the way the brain senses and models signals from the body, and is linked to mom’s mental health.
Representative publications:
Ongoing studies:
Perinatal Research on Interoception, Stress and Mood (PRISM) Study - we are currently recruiting women aged 18-45 years who are either in their first pregnancy or who have never been pregnant to participate in a study on how women sense their body cues.
Health impacts of education experiences
Early poverty and lower educational attainment is a risk factor of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Upwardly mobile youth who “strive” to rise above poverty through better education typically have better cognitive outcomes, which can make them resilient to later AD. But such striving can be stressful, especially for women. Stress acts as a risk for physical health and could undo AD resilience generated through education. In this study, BABLab is teaming up with Dr. Jennifer Silvers’ Social Affective Neuroscience Development (SAND) Lab, to investigate how education experiences affect cognitive function and physical health (especially at the level of the brain-gut axis) in young adulthood.
Representative publications:
Check back soon!
Ongoing studies:
This research was recently funded by the National Institutes of Aging. Enrollment is targeted to an existing cohort and is not open to the general public.
Community partners
We are very proud to partner with and support some great community organizations that share our passion for the mental and physical well-being of children and their families.
