Stefanie Mayer, PhD, will present "Stress, Early Adversity, and Depression – From Laboratory Mechanistic Insights to Daily Psychological Interventions"

Talk Description  

Stress and adversity throughout the lifespan, particularly during childhood, can leave a “scar” into later adult life, altering psychological and biological (e.g., neuroendocrine, cellular aging) processes that can have detrimental health outcomes. This talk will draw on my laboratory and field studies in healthy and psychiatric populations to illuminate these pathways, particularly as they relate to depression. I will also present my current intervention research that utilizes this basic science information to develop stress resilience interventions, including a digital daily mindfulness-based intervention for individuals exposed to early adversity.  

Biography

Stefanie Mayer, PhD, is a clinical and health psychologist at the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her research, which is funded by a National Institute on Aging (NIA) K99/R00 career development award, focuses on understanding the psychobiological pathways by which stress exposure – throughout the lifespan – can worsen adult health. She has a particular interest in examining stress and adversity during the early developmental years and in developing digital mindfulness-based interventions for adults exposed to early life adversity. 

The Osher Center for Integrative Medicine hosts lunchtime research seminars that are open to the research community at large. 

Click here to join on Zoom. Or RSVP here on the UCSF Events Calendar.