Research

Lab Areas of Interest:

• Social Determinants of Health
• Socioeconomic and Racial Health Disparities
• Stress Physiology and Biomarkers of Physiologic Dysregulation
• Policy Influences on Health Inequality
• Intergenerational Social Mobility

research focus:

Research in the Health Equity Research Lab focuses on understanding how differential life circumstances—as a function of race and social class—influence health disparities across the life span. We approach this topic from a developmental perspective, considering contextual stresses during childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and the biological and psychological mechanisms for their effects on health.

One of our primary goals is to contribute to a basic scientific understanding of how stressful experiences influence physical health and development at particular points in the life span. Our research also emphasizes the study of contexts that reveal mechanisms for health inequality and thus interfaces with social movements to address health inequity. Since racial and socioeconomic differences in health are largely the result of past and present social injustice, we believe that understanding and addressing these disparities should be a high priority for social scientists, political leaders, and society.

In recent work, we have considered the impact of social class discrimination on the physical health of adolescents from low income families, and the physiological consequences of negative stereotypes and discrimination for minority college students attending predominantly White colleges.

Current Data Collection Projects:

Title of Grant: Social determinants of sleep and sleep disparities among college students: The influence of childhood adversity, contemporaneous stress, and proximal behavioral mediators

Funding Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), grant number 1R15HL140504-01A1

Project Dates: 08/01/2018 - 07/31/2021