Nicki Bush, PhD

Professor In Residence
Psychiatry
[email protected]
+1 415 476-7655

Dr. Bush is the Lisa and John Pritzker Distinguished Professor of Developmental and Behavioral Health, jointly appointed as a Full Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Pediatrics, and the Director (Division Chief) of the Division of Developmental Medicine. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Center for the Developing Child and a member of the UCSF Institute for Health Policy Studies.

Dr. Bush is an international leader with clinical and research expertise in child and family health and wellbeing. She is an M-PI for an ECHO National Children's Study consortium cohort (NIH UG/UH), the Co-Scientific Director of the CANDLE study (Urban Child Institute; NIH), an MPI on the UCSF CARES intervention study (State of CA Gov Office), the PI of the SEED prenatal programming study (R01), the UCSF PI of the TIDES multi-site prenatal programming study (R01), the Co-PI of the CANDLE DOHaD Epigenetics Study (CIHR, Canada), the PI of the CPP-HEALTH Trauma and Biomarkers study (CTSI; RWJF; JPB Foundation), a scientist in the JPB Toxic Stress Network, and the PI for the program evaluation of the BLOOM Black Baby Equity Clinic in Oakland.

Dr. Bush has published more than 220 empirical papers and book chapters on research focused on the manner in which early life psychosocial environments, beginning in utero, affect developmental trajectories of health and disease across the life course. She investigates the ways in which contextual experiences of adversity, ranging from socioeconomic status to interpersonal violence, become biologically embedded by changing children’s developing physiologic systems and organs, thereby shaping individual differences that influence development and mental health in childhood and later life. Her work focuses on identifying points for prevention of disease as well as protective factors and interventions that promote resilience, with special attention to vulnerable populations and the unique interplay between maternal-child health across generations.

Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within research, clinical, and academic contexts is a core component of Dr. Bush's work. For example, she is a past recipient of the UCSF Chancellor's Award for the Advancement of Women, and she currently serves on the Diversity Advisory Council for the Executive Committee of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and is a founding member of the NIH ECHO consortium's DEI Working Group. Moreover, her work explicitly strives to illuminate social determinants of health and advance anti-racist practices across scholarly and community contexts, employing diverse teams and data from communities underrepresented in research.

Biography Summary:

Nicole (Nicki) Bush joined the faculty after completing a postdoctoral fellowship as a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the UCSF/UCB site. Prior to that, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in children’s physiologic stress reactivity at UC Berkeley. She received her PhD in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington and completed her child clinical training internship at the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has a background in basic research as well as clinical and community intervention with families from high-stress contexts, and she is actively involved in policy-oriented projects.

Her research has examined relations among biobehavioral predispositions (e.g., temperament and physiology) and stressful life circumstances (e.g., poverty, parenting, and neighborhood) in the prediction of a broad range of children's mental health outcomes. In recent years, Dr. Bush has expanded understanding of contextual risk effects by infusing scientific models with a new understanding of biology (physiology, genetics, epigenetics) throughout early development, including the prenatal period. Her work integrates insights from social epidemiology, sociology, clinical psychology, and developmental psychobiology to elucidate the interplay of biology and context in youth development, as physiological systems mature and social environments change. Her examinations of how social disadvantage interacts with and alters children’s biological stress response systems aim to clarify the etiology of children’s mental and physical health outcomes and subsequent adult health. She collaborates with clinical interventionists to identify preventative and intervention efforts that can promote resilience in children and families and reverse biological and psychological harm from adversity.

Clinical Expertise:

Caregiver-child relationships; disruptive behaviors in early childhood; adolescent mood and anxiety; adolescent delinquency; family therapy; individual adult therapy; community intervention in high-risk neighborhoods and schools.

Publications

Periods of susceptibility for associations between phthalate exposure and preterm birth: Results from a pooled analysis of 16 US cohorts.

Environment international

Friedman A, Welch BM, Keil AP, Bloom MS, Braun JM, Buckley JP, Dabelea D, Factor-Litvak P, Meeker JD, Michels KB, Padmanabhan V, Starling AP, Weinberg CR, Aalborg J, Alshawabkeh AN, Barrett ES, Binder AM, Bradman A, Bush NR, Calafat AM, Cantonwine DE, Christenbury KE, Cordero JF, Engel SM, Eskenazi B, Harley KG, Hauser R, Herbstman JB, Holland N, James-Todd T, Jukic AMZ, Lanphear BP, McElrath TF, Messerlian C, Newman RB, Nguyen RHN, O'Brien KM, Rauh VA, Redmon JB, Rich DQ, Rosen EM, Sathyanarayana S, Schmidt RJ, Sparks AE, Swan SH, Wang C, Watkins DJ, Weinberger B, Wenzel AG, Wilcox AJ, Yolton K, Zhang Y, Zota AR, Ferguson KK

Children's executive functioning and health behaviors across pediatric life stages and ecological contexts.

Journal of behavioral medicine

Kelly NR, Kosty D, Bodovski Y, Blackwell CK, Ganiban JM, Neiderhiser JM, Dabelea D, Gilbert-Diamond D, Aschner JL, Bastain TM, Breton CV, Bush NR, Calub CA, Camargo CA, Camerota M, Croen LA, Elliott AJ, Enlow MB, Ferrara A, Hartert T, Joseph RM, Karagas MR, Kelly RS, Lyall K, Magee KE, McEvoy CT, Merced-Nieves FM, O'Connor TG, Santarossa S, Schantz SL, Schmidt RJ, Stanford JB, Straughen JK, Stroustrup A, Talge NM, Wright RJ, Zhao Q, Leve LD, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

Demographic Correlates of Autism: How Do Associations Compare Between Diagnosis and a Quantitative Trait Measure?

Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research

Lyall K, Dickerson AS, Green AM, Frndak S, Croen LA, Ames JL, Avalos LA, Aschner JL, Bush NR, Camargo CA, D'Sa V, Dager SR, Dunlop AL, Ferrara A, Ganiban JM, Gern JE, Gissandaner TD, Graff JC, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hipwell AE, Ma T, Miller M, Murphy L, Karagas MR, Kelly RS, Margolis A, Koinis-Mitchell D, McEvoy CT, Messinger D, Nguyen R, Oken E, Ozonoff S, Page GP, Schantz SL, Schmidt RJ, Shuster CL, Schweitzer JB, Sheinkopf SJ, Stanford JB, Trevino CO, Weiss ST, Volk HE, Joseph RM, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

Longitudinal Changes in Youth Mental Health From Before to During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

JAMA network open

Blackwell CK, Wu G, Chandran A, Arizaga J, Bosquet Enlow M, Brennan PA, Burton P, Bush NR, Cella D, Cummins C, D'Sa VA, Frazier JA, Ganiban JM, Gershon R, Koinis-Mitchell D, Leve LD, Loftus CT, Lukankina N, Margolis A, Nozadi SS, Wright RJ, Wright RO, Zhao Q, LeWinn KZ, Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program Collaborators

Association of Maternal Fish Consumption and Omega-3 Supplement Use During Pregnancy With Child Autism-Related Outcomes: Results from a Cohort Consortium Analysis.

The American journal of clinical nutrition

Lyall K, Westlake M, Musci R, Gachigi K, Barrett ES, Bastain TM, Bush NR, Buss C, Camargo CA, Croen LA, Dabelea D, Dunlop AL, Elliott AJ, Ferrara A, Ghassabian A, Gern JE, Hare ME, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hipwell AE, Hockett CW, Karagas MR, Lugo-Candelas C, O'Connor TG, Schmidt RJ, Stanford JB, Straughen JK, Shuster CL, Wright RO, Wright RJ, Zhao Q, Oken E, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes, ECHO Components—Coordinating Center, Data Analysis Center, Person-Reported Outcomes Core, ECHO Awardees and Cohorts

A genome scale transcriptional regulatory model of the human placenta.

Science advances

Paquette A, Ahuna K, Hwang YM, Pearl J, Liao H, Shannon P, Kadam L, Lapehn S, Bucher M, Roper R, Funk C, MacDonald J, Bammler T, Baloni P, Brockway H, Mason WA, Bush N, Lewinn KZ, Karr CJ, Stamatoyannopoulos J, Muglia LJ, Jones H, Sadovsky Y, Myatt L, Sathyanarayana S, Price ND

Reproducibility between preschool and school-age Social Responsiveness Scale forms in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program.

Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research

Patti MA, Croen LA, Dickerson AS, Joseph RM, Ames JL, Ladd-Acosta C, Ozonoff S, Schmidt RJ, Volk HE, Hipwell AE, Magee KE, Karagas M, McEvoy C, Landa R, Elliott MR, Mitchell DK, D'Sa V, Deoni S, Pievsky M, Wu PC, Barry F, Stanford JB, Bilder DA, Trasande L, Bush NR, Lyall K, program collaborators for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

Birth Outcomes in Relation to Neighborhood Food Access and Individual Food Insecurity During Pregnancy in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-Wide Cohort Study.

The American journal of clinical nutrition

Aris IM, Lin PD, Wu AJ, Dabelea D, Lester BM, Wright RJ, Karagas MR, Kerver JM, Dunlop AL, Joseph CLM, Camargo CA, Ganiban JM, Schmidt RJ, Strakovsky RS, McEvoy CT, Hipwell AE, O'Shea TM, McCormack LA, Maldonado LE, Niu Z, Ferrara A, Zhu Y, Chehab RF, Kinsey EW, Bush NR, Nguyen RHN, Carroll KN, Barrett ES, Lyall K, Sims-Taylor LM, Trasande L, Biagini JM, Breton CV, Patti MA, Coull B, Amutah-Onukagha N, Hacker MR, James-Todd T, Oken E, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes, ECHO Components, Pb S, Lk N, Lp J, Dj C, G F, R G, D C, ECHO Awardees and Cohorts

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth: A Pooled Study of Sixteen U.S. Cohorts.

Environmental health perspectives

Welch BM, Keil AP, Buckley JP, Engel SM, James-Todd T, Zota AR, Alshawabkeh AN, Barrett ES, Bloom MS, Bush NR, Cordero JF, Dabelea D, Eskenazi B, Lanphear BP, Padmanabhan V, Sathyanarayana S, Swan SH, Aalborg J, Baird DD, Binder AM, Bradman A, Braun JM, Calafat AM, Cantonwine DE, Christenbury KE, Factor-Litvak P, Harley KG, Hauser R, Herbstman JB, Hertz-Picciotto I, Holland N, Jukic AMZ, McElrath TF, Meeker JD, Messerlian C, Michels KB, Newman RB, Nguyen RHN, O'Brien KM, Rauh VA, Redmon B, Rich DQ, Rosen EM, Schmidt RJ, Sparks AE, Starling AP, Wang C, Watkins DJ, Weinberg CR, Weinberger B, Wenzel AG, Wilcox AJ, Yolton K, Zhang Y, Ferguson KK

Development and psychometric validation of the Pandemic-Related Traumatic Stress Scale for children and adults.

Psychological assessment

Blackwell CK, Sherlock P, Jackson KL, Hofheimer JA, Cella D, Algermissen MA, Alshawabkeh AN, Avalos LA, Bastain T, Blair C, Bosquet Enlow M, Brennan PA, Breton C, Bush NR, Chandran A, Collazo S, Conradt E, Crowell SE, Deoni S, Elliott AJ, Frazier JA, Ganiban JM, Gold DR, Herbstman JB, Joseph C, Karagas MR, Lester B, Lasky-Su JA, Leve LD, LeWinn KZ, Mason WA, McGowan EC, McKee KS, Miller RL, Neiderhiser JM, O'Connor TG, Oken E, O'Shea TM, Pagliaccio D, Schmidt RJ, Singh AM, Stanford JB, Trasande L, Wright RJ, Duarte CS, Margolis AE

Evaluation of pediatric epigenetic clocks across multiple tissues.

Clinical epigenetics

Fang F, Zhou L, Perng W, Marsit CJ, Knight AK, Cardenas A, Aung MT, Hivert MF, Aris IM, Goodrich JM, Smith AK, Gaylord A, Fry RC, Oken E, O'Connor G, Ruden DM, Trasande L, Herbstman JB, Camargo CA, Bush NR, Dunlop AL, Dabelea DM, Karagas MR, Breton CV, Ober C, Everson TM, Page GP, Ladd-Acosta C, program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-wide Cohort.

American journal of epidemiology

Knapp EA, Kress AM, Parker CB, Page GP, McArthur K, Gachigi KK, Alshawabkeh AN, Aschner JL, Bastain TM, Breton CV, Bendixsen CG, Brennan PA, Bush NR, Buss C, Camargo CA, Catellier D, Cordero JF, Croen L, Dabelea D, Deoni S, D'Sa V, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Elliott AJ, Farzan SF, Ferrara A, Ganiban JM, Gern JE, Giardino AP, Towe-Goodman NR, Gold DR, Habre R, Hamra GB, Hartert T, Herbstman JB, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hipwell AE, Karagas MR, Karr CJ, Keenan K, Kerver JM, Koinis-Mitchell D, Lau B, Lester BM, Leve LD, Leventhal B, LeWinn KZ, Lewis J, Litonjua AA, Lyall K, Madan JC, McEvoy CT, McGrath M, Meeker JD, Miller RL, Morello-Frosch R, Neiderhiser JM, O'Connor TG, Oken E, O'Shea M, Paneth N, Porucznik CA, Sathyanarayana S, Schantz SL, Spindel ER, Stanford JB, Stroustrup A, Teitelbaum SL, Trasande L, Volk H, Wadhwa PD, Weiss ST, Woodruff TJ, Wright RJ, Zhao Q, Jacobson LP, Environmental Influences On Child Health Outcomes OBOPCF

Prenatal depression and risk of child autism-related traits among participants in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes program.

Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research

Avalos LA, Chandran A, Churchill ML, Gao X, Ames JL, Nozadi SS, Roubinov D, Brennan PA, Bush NR, Camargo CA, Carroll KN, Cioffi CC, Ferrara A, Goldson B, Hedderson MM, Hipwell AE, Kerver JM, O'Connor TG, Porucznik CA, Shuffrey LC, Talavera-Barber MM, Wright RJ, Zhu Y, Croen LA, Program Collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes

Developing a National-Scale Exposure Index for Combined Environmental Hazards and Social Stressors and Applications to the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

International journal of environmental research and public health

Martenies SE, Zhang M, Corrigan AE, Kvit A, Shields T, Wheaton W, Around Him D, Aschner J, Talavera-Barber MM, Barrett ES, Bastain TM, Bendixsen C, Breton CV, Bush NR, Cacho F, Camargo CA, Carroll KN, Carter BS, Cassidy-Bushrow AE, Cowell W, Croen LA, Dabelea D, Duarte CS, Dunlop AL, Everson TM, Habre R, Hartert TV, Helderman JB, Hipwell AE, Karagas MR, Lester BM, LeWinn KZ, Magzamen S, Morello-Frosch R, O'Connor TG, Padula AM, Petriello M, Sathyanarayana S, Stanford JB, Woodruff TJ, Wright RJ, Kress AM, Program Collaborators for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

Intergenerational transmission of the effects of maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment in the USA: a retrospective cohort study.

The Lancet. Public health

Moog NK, Cummings PD, Jackson KL, Aschner JL, Barrett ES, Bastain TM, Blackwell CK, Bosquet Enlow M, Breton CV, Bush NR, Deoni SCL, Duarte CS, Ferrara A, Grant TL, Hipwell AE, Jones K, Leve LD, Lovinsky-Desir S, Miller RK, Monk C, Oken E, Posner J, Schmidt RJ, Wright RJ, Entringer S, Simhan HN, Wadhwa PD, O'Connor TG, Musci RJ, Buss C, ECHO collaborators

Analysis of Pregnancy Complications and Epigenetic Gestational Age of Newborns.

JAMA network open

Ladd-Acosta C, Vang E, Barrett ES, Bulka CM, Bush NR, Cardenas A, Dabelea D, Dunlop AL, Fry RC, Gao X, Goodrich JM, Herbstman J, Hivert MF, Kahn LG, Karagas MR, Kennedy EM, Knight AK, Mohazzab-Hosseinian S, Morin A, Niu Z, O'Shea TM, Palmore M, Ruden D, Schmidt RJ, Smith AK, Song A, Spindel ER, Trasande L, Volk H, Weisenberger DJ, Breton CV, Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program

Urinary oxidative stress biomarkers are associated with preterm birth: an Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes program study.

American journal of obstetrics and gynecology

Eick SM, Geiger SD, Alshawabkeh A, Aung M, Barrett ES, Bush N, Carroll KN, Cordero JF, Goin DE, Ferguson KK, Kahn LG, Liang D, Meeker JD, Milne GL, Nguyen RHN, Padula AM, Sathyanarayana S, Taibl KR, Schantz SL, Woodruff TJ, Morello-Frosch R, of program collaborators for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

Associations Between Prenatal Urinary Biomarkers of Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth: A Pooled Study of 16 US Cohorts.

JAMA pediatrics

Welch BM, Keil AP, Buckley JP, Calafat AM, Christenbury KE, Engel SM, O'Brien KM, Rosen EM, James-Todd T, Zota AR, Ferguson KK, Pooled Phthalate Exposure and Preterm Birth Study Group, Alshawabkeh AN, Cordero JF, Meeker JD, Barrett ES, Bush NR, Nguyen RHN, Sathyanarayana S, Swan SH, Cantonwine DE, McElrath TF, Aalborg J, Dabelea D, Starling AP, Hauser R, Messerlian C, Zhang Y, Bradman A, Eskenazi B, Harley KG, Holland N, Bloom MS, Newman RB, Wenzel AG, Braun JM, Lanphear BP, Yolton K, Factor-Litvak P, Herbstman JB, Rauh VA, Drobnis EZ, Sparks AE, Redmon JB, Wang C, Binder AM, Michels KB, Baird DD, Jukic AMZ, Weinberg CR, Wilcox AJ, Rich DQ, Weinberger B, Padmanabhan V, Watkins DJ, Hertz-Picciotto I, Schmidt RJ

Cardiometabolic Pregnancy Complications in Association with Autism-Related Traits as Measured by the Social Responsiveness Scale in ECHO.

American journal of epidemiology

Lyall K, Ning X, Aschner JL, Avalos LA, Bennett DH, Bilder DA, Bush NR, Carroll KN, Chu SH, Croen LA, Dabelea D, Daniels JL, Duarte C, Elliott AJ, Fallin MD, Ferrara A, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hipwell AE, Jensen ET, Johnson SL, Joseph RM, Karagas M, Kelly RS, Lester BM, Margolis A, McEvoy CT, Messinger D, Neiderhiser JM, O'Connor TG, Oken E, Sathyanarayana S, Schmidt RJ, Sheinkopf SJ, Talge NM, Turi KN, Wright RJ, Zhao Q, Newschaffer C, Volk HE, Ladd-Acosta C, Environmental Influences On Child Health Outcomes OBOPCF

Youth Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Pediatrics

Blackwell CK, Mansolf M, Sherlock P, Ganiban J, Hofheimer JA, Barone CJ, Bekelman TA, Blair C, Cella D, Collazo S, Croen LA, Deoni S, Elliott AJ, Ferrara A, Fry RC, Gershon R, Herbstman JB, Karagas MR, LeWinn KZ, Margolis A, Miller RL, O'Shea TM, Porucznik CA, Wright RJ

Distributional Properties and Criterion Validity of a Shortened Version of the Social Responsiveness Scale: Results from the ECHO Program and Implications for Social Communication Research.

Journal of autism and developmental disorders

Lyall K, Hosseini M, Ladd-Acosta C, Ning X, Catellier D, Constantino JN, Croen LA, Kaat AJ, Botteron K, Bush NR, Dager SR, Duarte CS, Fallin MD, Hazlett H, Hertz-Picciotto I, Joseph RM, Karagas MR, Korrick S, Landa R, Messinger D, Oken E, Ozonoff S, Piven J, Pandey J, Sathyanarayana S, Schultz RT, St John T, Schmidt R, Volk H, Newschaffer CJ

The PedBE clock accurately estimates DNA methylation age in pediatric buccal cells.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

McEwen LM, O'Donnell KJ, McGill MG, Edgar RD, Jones MJ, MacIsaac JL, Lin DTS, Ramadori K, Morin A, Gladish N, Garg E, Unternaehrer E, Pokhvisneva I, Karnani N, Kee MZL, Klengel T, Adler NE, Barr RG, Letourneau N, Giesbrecht GF, Reynolds JN, Czamara D, Armstrong JM, Essex MJ, de Weerth C, Beijers R, Tollenaar MS, Bradley B, Jovanovic T, Ressler KJ, Steiner M, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, Buss C, Bush NR, Binder EB, Boyce WT, Meaney MJ, Horvath S, Kobor MS

An epigenetic clock for gestational age at birth based on blood methylation data.

Genome biology

Knight AK, Craig JM, Theda C, Bækvad-Hansen M, Bybjerg-Grauholm J, Hansen CS, Hollegaard MV, Hougaard DM, Mortensen PB, Weinsheimer SM, Werge TM, Brennan PA, Cubells JF, Newport DJ, Stowe ZN, Cheong JL, Dalach P, Doyle LW, Loke YJ, Baccarelli AA, Just AC, Wright RO, Téllez-Rojo MM, Svensson K, Trevisi L, Kennedy EM, Binder EB, Iurato S, Czamara D, Räikkönen K, Lahti JM, Pesonen AK, Kajantie E, Villa PM, Laivuori H, Hämäläinen E, Park HJ, Bailey LB, Parets SE, Kilaru V, Menon R, Horvath S, Bush NR, LeWinn KZ, Tylavsky FA, Conneely KN, Smith AK