Research conducted in our lab focuses primarily on two major topic areas: 1) the effects of stress on the brain, and 2) the effects of HIV on the brain.  If you’re interested in participating in one of our studies, please scroll down for details.

Psychological Stress and Behavior.  Chronic exposure to psychological stress can impact many aspects of life, including one’s cognitive and emotional functions.  We are conducting research that examines how stress exposure leads to changes in decision-making, impulsivity, behavior, and health.  The long-term goal of this work is to better understand how stress exposure modifies health-related behaviors (e.g., sleep, substance use, exercise).

Early-Life Stress and Chronic Stress Research.  Chronic stress is linked to negative health outcomes, which stem from changes in the body as well as the brain.  Because the human brain continues to develop and grow throughout childhood, chronic stress experienced during these early years can have lifelong effects on brain structure and function.  Recent data suggest that these brain changes might contribute to poorer cognitive and psychological functions in adulthood.

We are interested in identifying the neural and biological mechanisms that lead to poorer cognitive and psychological outcomes in adults who have experienced high levels of early-life stress.  In doing so, we hope to begin to unravel the brain effects of high early-life stress from those of chronic stress experienced during adulthood.  We also seek to understand how specific coping mechanisms might help to mitigate the negative effects of stress on the brain.  We hope that this research will lead to the development of novel interventions aimed at helping individuals better deal with stress in order to reduce its negative effects on the body and the brain.

HIV Research.  Many people know that HIV has a negative effect on the immune system; however, HIV infection can also impact other systems, including the central nervous system.  Our work focuses on the effect that HIV infection has on the brain.

HIV+ individuals report increased neurocognitive (e.g., slowed thinking, poorer memory) and neuropsychiatric (e.g., depression, apathy) symptoms.  These difficulties have been linked to poorer health outcomes and quality of life for HIV+ individuals.  There is evidence that HIV-related brain changes contribute to neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ individuals, but we don’t yet fully understand how and why these brain changes develop.

Our research examines the neural correlates of HIV-related neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms.  We are particularly interested in understanding how various contributory factors act to increase brain changes associated with neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV+ adults.  We are also working to reveal biological mechanisms that are associated with these brain changes.  We hope that our findings will help promote a better understanding of, and new treatment options for, HIV-related neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric difficulties.

Would you like to participate in one of our studies?   Please see info below.