Laurel Raffington receives National Institute of Health R01 Grant

The funded project investigates epigenetic pathways of socioeconomic disparities in physical and cognitive health across the lifespan

September 05, 2024

Laurel Raffington (leader of the Research Group Biosocial - Biology, Social Disparities and Development) has been awarded a National Institute of Health (NIH) R01 research grant (USD 2.5 million) together with Dr. Kathryn Paige Harden (University of Texas at Austin). The research project "Epigenetic Pathways of Socioeconomic Disparities in Physical and Cognitive Health Across the Lifespan" will proceed from 2024 until 2029.

Children who grow up in low-income homes are at higher risk for poor health and early mortality. It is difficult to study the effects of childhood social conditions on adult health, however, because sometimes these impacts are not evident for decades. This project probes whether DNA methylation (a type of epigenetic modification of the genome) can help researchers see how health is being negatively affected by adverse social conditions in childhood, using a unique research design that analyzes epigenetic data from four experimental or observational cohorts that span early childhood to older adulthood.

The NIH is the leading US agency for biomedical and public health research. It promotes scientific studies by funding, training and supporting researchers worldwide.

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