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Early Adversity & Brain Health

  • Alzheimer's
  • Brain function
  • Cognitive
  • Dementia
  • Depression
  • Mood
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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.

© Sarah Bauermeister
Resilience: The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties

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 Sylvia Ralovska - Consultant psychiatrist 

Dr Delia Gheorghe – Evidence-based Psychology

Joshua Bauermeister Data Manager

 

Collaborators

Dr Sun Jae Jung Yonsei University, South Korea

Dr Do-Geun Kim Korean Brain Research Institute, South Korea

Julian Turner The Day

Prof John Gallacher BrainWaves Hub and Dementias Platform UK (DPUK)

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements 

Juliet Kirsten -  Modify logo 

Our team

Publications

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Find all our latest publications here

Publications

Related research themes

Basic Clinical Research – understanding the causes and mechanisms of mental illness, using experimental medicine approaches
Understanding the causes and mechanisms of mental illness