Research

The HAIR Lab studies early life factors that shape individual differences in development, as well as cognitive, social, behavioral, and physical health outcomes in both human and non-human primates.

In humans, the research is focused on how the school environment and after-school enrichment programs influence long-term hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, measured via hair and nail cortisol. Collaborations are also underway with multiple researchers across the country to study biomarkers of chronic stress in healthy and vulnerable populations.

In nonhuman primates, the HAIR Lab relies on rhesus monkeys as models of child development, studying how prenatal and postnatal factors influence an individual's risk or resilience to chronic stress, and later health outcomes across the life course. Primates are also studied across the lifespan to unpack the intergenerational effects of variable early life experiences.