Physical performance in older age predicts independence, and social factors influence physical function, yet the biological mechanisms are not well understood. Mitochondrial function—a new “hallmark of aging”—may explain how social experiences impact health, as its dysfunction is linked to multiple age-related diseases and declining physical performance. However, no field studies have examined links between mitochondria,… Continue reading Examining the relationship between blood-based mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity in frozen samples, socioeconomic position, and physical functioning
Research Theme: Genomics
Enhancing and Archiving Genomic Data of the PSID Child Development Supplement
This project will enhance basic genomic data from the 2014 wave of the Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics in a number of important ways. It will create new genomic measures, make them available to the research community free of charge, and promote their use through comprehensive documentation and outreach efforts.… Continue reading Enhancing and Archiving Genomic Data of the PSID Child Development Supplement
Genotyping the Understanding America Study to generate novel opportunities for research on cognitive functioning and dementia
This project seeks to gather genotype data from 12,000 participants in the Understanding America Study panel to develop polygenic scores. These scores will be utilized in social-science genetic studies to examine factors influencing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Researchers involved in the project will: Biological samples will be processed and stored at… Continue reading Genotyping the Understanding America Study to generate novel opportunities for research on cognitive functioning and dementia
Childhood adversity, DNA methylation, and risk for depression: A longitudinal study of protective factors and sensitive periods in development
Little is known about the extent to which the biological embedding of promotive and protective factors pre-loads a capacity for resilience across the life course. If researchers better understood how promotive and protective factors operate biologically we could better determine what causes depression, which children are most at risk, and perhaps most critically, the optimal… Continue reading Childhood adversity, DNA methylation, and risk for depression: A longitudinal study of protective factors and sensitive periods in development
Landscapes of Population Health
Landscapes of Population Health (“Landscapes”) is an interdisciplinary research collective that includes historians, sociologists, psychologists, epidemiologists, and statisticians who bring their expertise in historical and contemporary racial violence and control, environmental justice, epigenomics, and population health to study the link between structural racism and population health. We bring together critical theories from the humanities and… Continue reading Landscapes of Population Health
Social Circumstances and Epigenomics Promoting Health in Three Countries
This project supports the analysis of existing social and epigenetic data for three countries and the development of longitudinal epigenetic data for three countries: the United States, Ireland, and the United Kingdome (Northern Ireland, specifically). The project will answer basic questions about how life circumstances in both childhood and adulthood affect epigenetic change and how… Continue reading Social Circumstances and Epigenomics Promoting Health in Three Countries
Immunosenescence, socioeconomic disadvantage and dementia in the US aging population
While risk factors for cognitive decline and Alzheimer ’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have been widely studied, there is still much unknown about the biological pathways that lead to ADRD. This project seeks to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of cognitive decline and ADRD by examining the role of peripheral immunosenescence in these… Continue reading Immunosenescence, socioeconomic disadvantage and dementia in the US aging population
Fragile Families Third Generation
The intergenerational persistence of poor health and poverty and the quest to understand underlying processes underscore the importance of rich multigenerational data. Very few existing datasets contain comprehensive information on social, environmental, and biological factors over the life course and across generations; lack of such data has seriously limited attempts to identify the processes shaping… Continue reading Fragile Families Third Generation
A Multi-Ancestry Study of Gene-Lifestyle Interactions and Multi-Omics in Cardiometabolic Traits
Cardiometabolic disease and management of its risk factors, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, adiposity and type II diabetes, constitute a major public health burden across diverse populations. Therefore, understanding the genetic and environmental (lifestyle) factors and their interactions may provide insights into intervention, prevention and therapeutic strategies for addressing this burden. Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS)… Continue reading A Multi-Ancestry Study of Gene-Lifestyle Interactions and Multi-Omics in Cardiometabolic Traits
Zhao,Wei
Wei Zhao is a Research Assistant Professor at the Survey Research Center in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (UM) and is affiliated with the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health (CSEPH), the Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (MiCDA), the Eisenberg Family Depression Center, and the UM Precision… Continue reading Zhao,Wei