Early Adversity & Brain Health
Founded in 2018
Supported by Dementias Platform UK (DPUK)
Funded by:
Medical Research Council
Swiss National Fund
Horizon-Widera Talents
UEFISDI
Blossom Early Adversity & Brain Health Programme is dedicated to investigating the effects of early life adversity on later life brain health, including mental health, cognition and dementia.
blossom background
Adverse early life experiences such as sexual, emotional, physical abuse and deprivation have a negative effect on later life biopsychosocial outcomes. Our group explores associations between these early life experiences and outcomes through the analysis of large population and clinical cohort datasets. By understanding the relationship between self-report retrospective early adversity and adult outcomes, intervention programmes aimed at ameliorating negative effects may be considered. Also these associations aid in the understanding of resilience and how some people remain unaffected by early life adverse and traumatic experiences.
Our group works with global multi-modal data sources including questionnaire, genetic and imaging data to further the understanding of the mechanistic pathways of early adversity on brain health. Global datasets are accessed through the Dementias Platform UK (DPUK) Data Portal and through other independent data sources. The Blossom group is lead by Dr Sarah Bauermeister and researchers are affiliated to the Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Oxford and global institutions.
other team members
Dr Ruby Tsang — University of Bristol
Dr Sylvia Ralovska - Consultant psychiatrist
Dr Delia Gheorghe – Evidence-based Psychology
Collaborators
Dr. Mark Ward - The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) - Trinity College Dublin (tcd.ie)
Dr Daniel Fatori - University of Sao Paolo, Brazil
Pedro Bacchi - University of Sao Paolo, Brazil
Hyunjoon Lee - Mass Gen Hospital Harvard, USA
Acknowledgements
John Gallacher — Department of Psychiatry (ox.ac.uk) - Mentorship
Juliet Kirsten - Modify logo
Joshua Bauermeister - Data management