Many negative consequences are linked to growing up poor, and researchers at Washington University St. Louis have identified one more: altered brain connectivity.

Analyzing brain scans of 105 children ages 7 to 12, the researchers found that key structures in the brain are connected differently in poor children than in kids raised in more affluent settings. In particular, the brain's hippocampus - a structure key to learning, memory and regulation of stress - and the amygdala - which is linked to stress and emotion - connect to other areas of the brain differently in poor children than in kids whose families had higher incomes.

Those connections, viewed using functional MRI scans, were weaker, depending on the degree of poverty to which a child was exposed. The poorer the family, the more likely the hippocampus and amygdala would connect to other brain structures in ways the researchers characterized as weaker. In addition, poorer preschoolers were much more likely to have symptoms of clinical depression when they reached school age.

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Insulin Resistance and Beta Cell Function: Relationship to Racial Disparities in Type 2 Diabetes among African Americans versus Caucasians.  

  Curr Obes Rep. 2015 Jun;4(2):241-9. doi: 10.1007/s13679-015-0150-2 

Graduate Medical Education in the Freddie Gray Era

N Engl J Med 2015; 373:1998-2000November 19, 2015DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1509216 

__________________________________________________________________________________  

  http://www.uab.edu/medicine/mhrc/images/Mid-South_TCC_RFA_2.pdf

__________________________________________________________________________________

The Genomics and Health Disparities Lecture Series was formed to enhance opportunities for dialogue about how innovations in genomics research and technology can impact health disparities. Topics will range from basic science to translational research.

Monday, March 7,  2016 at 2 pm CST

"Chronic Kidney Disease - A Window into Understanding Health Disparities"

Neil Powe, M.D., MPH, MBA

Chief of Medicine, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH)
Professor, Center for Vulnerable Populations, SFGH
Constance B. Wofsy Distinguished Professor
Vice-Chair of Medicine, University of California San Francisco

This lecture will be videocast and can be viewed at http://www.genome.gov/GenomeTVLive/ 

 

  A Discussion on the IOM Report:  Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health.

The committee's charge was to explore how the education of health professionals is currently addressing the social determinants of health in and with communities. The committee was asked to develop a framework for how the education of health professionals for better understanding the social determinants of health could be strengthened across the learning continuum.
The committee's report will be released on
Wednesday, March 9,  2016 at 8 am CST
Register and watch free videocast

__________________________________________________________________________________

Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE)
The focus of the new research is on how genetic variants initially identified through genome-side association studies (GWAS)  research are related to a person's biological and physical characteristics, such as weight, cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels or bone density. Scientists will also examine how non-genetic factors, such as diet, medications and smoking, may interact with genetic factors or each other to influence health outcomes.

An Introduction to GIS and Public Health - Training

__________________________________________________________________________________