Stress and adversity experienced during early development can exert a profound and persistent imprint on our physiology, brain, and health across the lifespan. This imprint can lead to long-term health outcomes ranging from substance use and depression to obesity and cardiovascular disease. There is also emerging evidence that stress and adversity may be transmitted from one generation to the next. However, protective experiences may prevent or mitigate these effects.

This lecture will provide examples of findings from Dr. Laura Stroud’s laboratory focused on revealing the earliest intergenerational transmission of maternal experiences and behaviors (particularly substance use) in fetuses and babies; the importance of understanding and intervening during sensitive periods; and the need for understanding the broader “exposome” including social and structural impacts.

Dr. Stroud will also describe ongoing studies from the COBRE Center for Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) and the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine at The Miriam Hospital, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. This work focuses on elucidating pathways and interventions to foster resilience. The speaker will conclude with the critical need to build resilience and mitigate health inequities at structural and community levels.

This lecture is supported by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health with a generous gift from the Bernard Osher Foundation.

Speaker Biosketch:
Laura Stroud, Ph.D., is professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She is also director and senior research scientist at the Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine of The Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Stroud also directs the NIH-funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) for Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) at The Miriam Hospital, where she and her colleagues study childhood stress, trauma, and resilience across the lifespan. Dr. Stroud’s research focuses on biological and behavioral mechanisms of stress, mood, and addiction, with a focus on pregnancy and fetal/infant development and adolescence and pubertal transitions. She holds a Ph.D. in clinical and health psychology from Yale University, and her work has been continuously funded by NIH since 2001.

About the Series:
The annual Stephen E. Straus Distinguished Lecture in the Science of Complementary Therapies honors the founding director of NCCIH (formerly the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine), Stephen E. Straus, M.D.

For more information go to https://www.nccih.nih.gov/news/events/distinguished-lectures