Primary Research Focus
The Strahm Lab focuses on the interactions between stress and health to discern the pathways by which stress affects health, with emphasis on reproductive health and health disparities.
Our current projects are designed to assess the associations between maternal psychosocial experiences and blood glucose metabolization during pregnancy and how these factors influence pregnancy and postpartum health, as well as the developmental outcomes of their children.
About the Strahm Lab
Lab Projects and News
Midwest Birth Outcome and Indigenous American Pregnancy study
Indigenous American pregnancies in the Midwest have disproportionally high rates of adverse outcomes, however little research has been done on how historical trauma and stress may impact these adverse outcomes. This project gathers data from pregnant Indigenous American women on their experiences with historical trauma, stress, and birth outcomes, as well as physiological data of how they respond to stress, to better understand the associations between these factors and the biological mechanisms underlying them. Understanding the mechanisms by which both historical and proximal stress "get under the skin" and influence pregnancy health and perinatal outcomes, will afford new targets of intervention to help reduce these IA health disparities.
Maternal Stress and Blood Sugar Metabolization During Pregnancy Study
Through the research study, we are examining how women’s emotions and nutrition during pregnancy are associated with their blood sugar and overall pregnancy health. This study will help us better understand how pregnant women respond to stress, which may enable us to help women in the future.