CTS Ph.D. student Lizzy Rasmussen has been awarded an F31 predoctoral fellowship by the National Institutes of Health which will support her as she completes her dissertation research project. The project will assess the role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intergenerational trauma (IT) in cardiovascular health (CVH) as measured by the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) in Hispanic adults of Mexican descent living at the US-Mexico border. The project will evaluate ACEs/IT and combined LE8 score, as well as individual component scores, including sleep. The project will also evaluate the relationship between ACEs/IT and potential social-environmental risk factors, and the role of these risk factors in the relationship between ACEs/IT and CVH. The findings from this study will advance understanding of the impact of ACEs/IT on CVH and sleep and provide foundation for future research examining mechanisms between traumas, sleep and CVH.
Ms. Rasmussen is a CTS doctoral candidate whose research focuses on investigating stress and trauma as determinants of health, as well as the role of sleep and sociocultural factors in these relationships. She is also interested in examining potential mitigating factors that may demonstrate post-trauma resilience. She has been involved with research in both academia and industry and has investigated health indicators at all levels of the Social-Ecological Model of Health. She is especially interested in community-engaged and translational approaches to elucidate intervention strategies that reduce health disparities and promote overall health outcomes and longevity.
Ms. Rasmussen's dissertation director, Dr. Michael Grandner, states, "Lizzy is a truly exceptional graduate student whose work has the potential to improve our understanding of mechanisms linking formative experiences with real-world outcomes including cardiovascular and metabolic health. Her work studying intergenerational transmission of stress and trauma, as well as exposure to adverse childhood experiences at the US-Mexico border, can help us better identify risks and guide treatments. This highly competitive funding from the NIH to support Lizzy's work will enable her to push the field forward in these innovative ways!"