Title: The Maternal-Fetal Environment During Pregnancy Shapes Both Mother and Infant Psychobiology
Presented by: Sandra J. Weiss, PhD, DNSc, RN, FAAN
Date: Thursday, April 25th, 2024
Time: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM CT | Lunch will be provided
Location: NUR 1.108 | View Map
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Sandra J. Weiss, PhD, DNSc, RN, FAAN
Professor and Eschbach Endowed Chair
Department of Community Health Systems
Director, Stress and Depression Lab
University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Weiss is Professor and Eschbach Endowed Chair in the Department of Community Health Systems as well as Director of the Stress and Depression Laboratory in the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She has a PhD in Biological and Developmental Psychology from University of California at Berkeley and both a Masters’ and Doctorate in Nursing Science from University of California at San Francisco.
Dr. Weiss’ program of research focuses on causes, mechanisms, and effects of depression, stress, and mood-related symptoms, especially among women during pregnancy and the postpartum. Her research has shown robust associations of early adversity, socioeconomic stressors, anxiety, and depressive symptoms to dysregulation of a woman’s perinatal stress physiology. Dr. Weiss’ work has also identified significant effects of maternal prenatal psychological distress and stress hormones on birth outcomes as well as alterations in infant heart rate variability, cortisol regulation, telomere integrity, gene methylation, and composition of the microbiome. Her findings are informing clinical assessment of women during pregnancy and the postpartum as well as targets for both preventive and remedial interventions that can assist women and their infants.
Dr. Weiss has over 30 years of interdisciplinary research experience as a PI and collaborator on research grants. In addition to her perinatal research, she currently heads up a national, multisite study of gender differences in symptom profiles of individuals experiencing depression, with a particular focus on phenotypes of depression that are unique to women. At UCSF, Dr. Weiss is involved in collaborative research with faculty in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine. She has served as Associate Provost for Research at the University of California’s Office of the President, as Executive Director of the Health Care Consortium, and as Director of the Center for Family Health Studies. She has also been a member and chair of multiple scientific panels for the NIH Center for Scientific Review.
Parking for this event is available for a fee at the Trinity Garage (TRG) at the corner of MLK and Trinity. If you need an accommodation to participate in this event, or you are a faculty member who would like to bring a class, please contact Amber Shah at ashah@nursing.utexas.edu or 512-471-7964.