How life stress and neighborhood hardship affect stress systems and biological aging in midlife
Life-Course Adversity and Other Determinants of Stress Regulation & Epigenetic Aging in Midlife Adults
This project will look at how stress from childhood through adulthood and neighborhood hardship relate to stress responses and biological signs of aging in midlife adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New York University School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11126886 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I join, researchers will combine information already collected about me from childhood with new surveys, interviews, and biological samples to understand my life-course exposures. They will study 450 people who have been followed since childhood from two long-term U.S. cohorts to see how individual and neighborhood adversity relate to stress regulation, mental health, and epigenetic age. The team will use four types of data—quantitative surveys, biological markers, qualitative interviews, and U.S. Census neighborhood measures—to triangulate findings. Analyses will emphasize social and geographic context to explain differences in stress biology and aging.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are midlife adults who were previously followed in the Harlem Longitudinal Development Study or the Children in the Community Study and who can provide surveys, interviews, and biological samples.
Not a fit: People who were not part of those original cohorts, who lack relevant childhood data, or who are unwilling to provide biological samples or interviews may not receive direct benefit from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal how lifelong adversity speeds biological aging and point to targets for interventions to protect mental and physical health.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies have linked childhood adversity to altered stress physiology and accelerated epigenetic aging, but combining decades-long cohort records with new biological and qualitative data is a relatively novel approach.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- New York University School of Medicine — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pahl, Kerstin — New York University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Pahl, Kerstin
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.