Early Adversity & Brain Health

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