Kieran O'Donnell, PhD
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Cards
Appointments
Child Study Center
Fully Joint
Contact Info
Yale School of Medicine
Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
About
Titles
Assistant Professor
Biography
Dr. O’Donnell is an Assistant Professor at the Yale Child Study Center and the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences within the Yale School of Medicine where he leads the Health-Omics & Perinatal Epidemiology (HOPE) Research Group.
Dr. O’Donnell's research focuses on maternal perinatal mental health and the developmental origins of mental health. His group integrates genomic and epigenomic data with measures of psychosocial risk to 1) better understand individual differences in maternal perinatal mental health and 2) identify the molecular processes that underlie the persisting influence of the prenatal environment on child/adolescent neurodevelopment. Dr. O'Donnell's research occurs in the context of a number of large prospective longitudinal cohorts, including the Montreal Antenatal Well-Being Study, as well as randomized controlled trials of maternally-focused psychosocial interventions.
Appointments
Child Study Center
Assistant ProfessorFully JointObstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences
Assistant ProfessorFully Joint
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University (2016)
- PhD
- Imperial College London, Clinical Medicine (2011)
- MSc
- Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, Neuroscience
- BSc (Hon)
- University of Westminster, Psychology
Research
Overview
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Biological Psychiatry; Depression, Postpartum; Molecular Epidemiology; Pregnant Women
ORCID
0000-0002-3935-1014
Research at a Glance
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Kieran O'Donnell's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Kieran O'Donnell is interested in exploring.
100Publications
4,626Citations
Depression, Postpartum
Pregnant Women
Publications
2024
Variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) moderates the influence of maternal sensitivity on child attachment
Tchalova K, Lydon J, Atkinson L, Fleming A, Kennedy J, Lecompte V, Meaney M, Moss E, O’Donnell K, O’Donnell K, Silveira P, Sokolowski M, Steiner M, Bartz J. Variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) moderates the influence of maternal sensitivity on child attachment. Translational Psychiatry 2024, 14: 181. PMID: 38580654, PMCID: PMC10997775, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02888-x.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsMaternal sensitivityChild attachmentAttachment behaviorExpression of attachment behaviorLevels of maternal sensitivityOPRM1 A118G genotypeInfluence of maternal sensitivityNon-human animal researchAmbivalent attachment patternsStrange Situation paradigmMu-opioid receptor geneOPRM1 A118G polymorphismA118G genotypeChildren's attachment stylesMother-child interactionA118G polymorphismEndogenous opioid systemMinor G alleleSensitive maternal careMother-infant attachmentInfant rhesus macaquesG alleleC77G polymorphismReceptor geneSituation paradigmThe effects of pregnancy, its progression, and its cessation on human (maternal) biological aging
Pham H, Thompson-Felix T, Czamara D, Rasmussen J, Lombroso A, Entringer S, Binder E, Wadhwa P, Buss C, O'Donnell K. The effects of pregnancy, its progression, and its cessation on human (maternal) biological aging. Cell Metabolism 2024, 36: 877-878. PMID: 38521058, DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2024.02.016.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricAssociations between Social Adversity and Biomarkers of Inflammation, Stress, and Aging in Children
Pantell M, Silveira P, de Mendonça Filho E, Wing H, Brown E, Keeton V, Pokhvisneva I, O’Donnell K, Neuhaus J, Hessler D, Meaney M, Adler N, Gottlieb L. Associations between Social Adversity and Biomarkers of Inflammation, Stress, and Aging in Children. Pediatric Research 2024, 95: 1553-1563. PMID: 38233512, PMCID: PMC11126389, DOI: 10.1038/s41390-023-02992-6.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsSocial adversityChildhood social adversityBiomarkers of inflammationEpigenetic ageSocial risk factorsChildren aged 0ResultsOur final sampleCytokine clusterCumulative adversityFinal sampleSocial predictorsPediatric clinicAged 0Logistic regressionNeuroendocrine functionBiomarkers of stressRisk factorsImpactOur studySocial factorsU-shaped distributionAdversityAssociationBiomarker samplingChildhoodChildren
2023
Maternal social support during and after pregnancy and child cognitive ability: examining timing effects in two cohorts.
Lähdepuro A, Räikkönen K, Pham H, Thompson-Felix T, Eid R, O'Connor T, Glover V, Lahti J, Heinonen K, Wolford E, Lahti-Pulkkinen M, O'Donnell K. Maternal social support during and after pregnancy and child cognitive ability: examining timing effects in two cohorts. Psychological Medicine 2023, 54: 1661-1670. PMID: 38087866, DOI: 10.1017/s0033291723003550.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsChildren's cognitive abilitiesChildren's cognitive developmentGeneral cognitive abilityMaternal social supportCognitive abilitiesCognitive developmentSocial supportChildren's general cognitive abilitiesWechsler Intelligence ScaleMaternal experienceIntelligence ScaleTiming effectsAvon Longitudinal StudyMaternal anxietySensitive periodLongitudinal studyMaternal symptomsProspective longitudinal cohortAnxietyChildrenLess attentionDepressionLongitudinal cohortSupportWISCIndependent Prediction of Child Psychiatric Symptoms by Maternal Mental Health and Child Polygenic Risk Scores
Chen L, Pokhvisneva I, Lahti-Pulkkinen M, Kvist T, Baldwin J, Parent C, Silveira P, Lahti J, Räikkönen K, Glover V, O'Connor T, Meaney M, O'Donnell K. Independent Prediction of Child Psychiatric Symptoms by Maternal Mental Health and Child Polygenic Risk Scores. Journal Of The American Academy Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2023, 63: 640-651. PMID: 37977417, PMCID: PMC11105503, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2023.08.018.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsPrenatal maternal depressionMaternal mental healthMaternal depressionAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderChild psychiatric symptomsPolygenic risk scoresPsychiatric symptomsRisk scoreMental healthFetal originGenomic riskAvon Longitudinal StudySimilar independent effectsAdolescent psychiatric symptomsHealth hypothesisMaternal symptomsChild CohortIndependent cohortBehavioral symptomsALSPAC cohortMental disordersSymptom dataSymptomsCohortChildren's symptomsIntegrating digital technology in perinatal mental healthcare: predictors of participation in a text message screening protocol for maternal depression and anxiety (Preprint)
Barnwell J, Hénault Robert C, Nguyen T, Davis K, Gratton C, Elgbeili G, Pham H, Montreuil T, O'Donnell K. Integrating digital technology in perinatal mental healthcare: predictors of participation in a text message screening protocol for maternal depression and anxiety (Preprint). JMIR Pediatrics And Parenting 2023 DOI: 10.2196/53786.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchEpigenetic age acceleration as a biomarker for impaired cognitive abilities in adulthood following early life adversity and psychiatric disorders
Felt J, Yusupov N, Harrington K, Fietz J, Zhang Z, Sliwinski M, Ram N, O'Donnell K, Group B, Meaney M, Putnam F, Noll J, Binder E, Shenk C. Epigenetic age acceleration as a biomarker for impaired cognitive abilities in adulthood following early life adversity and psychiatric disorders. Neurobiology Of Stress 2023, 27: 100577. PMID: 37885906, PMCID: PMC10597797, DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100577.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsEarly life adversityPsychiatric disordersEpigenetic age accelerationLife adversityAge accelerationProspective cohort studyBiological agingNon-abused controlsCohort studyNeurocognitive screeningPeripheral bloodCommunity cohortNeurocognitive declineIndependent cohortCognitive declineEarly screeningMental disordersCohortGrimAge clockDisordersBiomarkersLower general cognitive abilityEarly declineNeurocognitive abilitiesCognitive abilitiesPerinatal Trajectories of Maternal Depressive Symptoms in Prospective, Community-Based Cohorts Across 3 Continents
Kee M, Cremaschi A, De Iorio M, Chen H, Montreuil T, Nguyen T, Côté S, O’Donnell K, Giesbrecht G, Letourneau N, Chan S, Meaney M. Perinatal Trajectories of Maternal Depressive Symptoms in Prospective, Community-Based Cohorts Across 3 Continents. JAMA Network Open 2023, 6: e2339942. PMID: 37883082, PMCID: PMC10603499, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.39942.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsSelf-reported depressive symptomsMaternal depressive symptomsDepressive symptomsPerinatal periodPostnatal periodEdinburgh Postnatal Depression ScalePostnatal Depression ScaleEpidemiological Studies DepressionHealth policy guidelinesPublic health initiativesGroups of mothersCohort studyObservational cohortProspective cohortPregnancy influencesReferral guidelinesMultiple time pointsDepression ScaleMAIN OUTCOMEPregnancyPostnatal onsetStudies DepressionHealth initiativesTimely interventionCohortEarly intervention to prevent adverse child emotional and behavioural development following maternal depression in pregnancy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
Milgrom J, Hirshler Y, Holt C, Skouteris H, Galbally M, East C, Glover V, Reece J, O’Donnell K, Walker S, Malloy S, Gemmill A. Early intervention to prevent adverse child emotional and behavioural development following maternal depression in pregnancy: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMC Psychology 2023, 11: 222. PMID: 37542332, PMCID: PMC10401817, DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01244-w.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsCognitive behavioral therapyChild Behavior ChecklistChild outcomesBehavioral developmentMaternal depressionAntenatal depression treatmentChild developmental outcomesRevised Infant Behavior QuestionnaireInfant Behavior QuestionnaireActive psychological treatmentsMother-infant interactionAntenatal depressionAdditional secondary outcome measuresMonths of ageAdverse child outcomesOutcome measuresPsychological treatmentCBT programMental health disordersBehavioral therapyAnxiety symptomsBehavior ChecklistBehavioral problemsExternalising problemsInternalising scalesA Glucocorticoid-Sensitive Hippocampal Gene Network Moderates the Impact of Early-Life Adversity on Mental Health Outcomes
Arcego D, Buschdorf J, O'Toole N, Wang Z, Barth B, Pokhvisneva I, Rayan N, Patel S, de Mendonça Filho E, Lee P, Tan J, Koh M, Sim C, Parent C, de Lima R, Clappison A, O'Donnell K, Dalmaz C, Arloth J, Provençal N, Binder E, Diorio J, Silveira P, Meaney M. A Glucocorticoid-Sensitive Hippocampal Gene Network Moderates the Impact of Early-Life Adversity on Mental Health Outcomes. Biological Psychiatry 2023, 95: 48-61. PMID: 37406925, DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.06.028.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHippocampal dentate gyrusDentate gyrusPsychiatric disordersHuman hippocampal cellsBrain gray matter densityEarly adversitySingle nucleotide polymorphismsMultiple psychiatric conditionsEarly life adversityGray matter densityAdult female macaquesMental health outcomesTranscriptional activityGlucocorticoid exposureNucleotide polymorphismsLater psychosisStress mediatorsHippocampal cellsPsychotic disordersAnimal modelsHealth outcomesPsychiatric conditionsSignificant associationFemale macaquesMental health
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
activity Adjunct Professor
Professional OrganizationsMcGill UniversityDetails07/01/2020 - Presentactivity Investigator
Professional OrganizationsLudmer Center for Neuroinformatics & Mental HealthDetails05/30/2016 - Presentactivity Editor
Journal ServiceScientific ReportsDetails02/03/2017 - Presentactivity Board Member, Postpartum Support International-Advisory Council
Advisory BoardsPostpartum Support InternationalDetails01/29/2021 - Presentactivity Learning Clubs
ResearchDetails07/01/2020 - PresentMelbourne, VIC, Australia; Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam
Links & Media
News
- April 08, 2024Source: Time
Pregnancy Can Make You Age Faster
- April 01, 2024Source: New York Post
Pregnancy actually increases your biological age, but you can undo it: study
- March 22, 2024Source: Nature
Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back
- March 22, 2024
Does Pregnancy Accelerate Aging? Yale Findings Suggest It Does – at First
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Yale School of Medicine
Yale Child Study Center, 230 South Frontage Road
New Haven, CT 06519
United States
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