Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Adversity

08/28/2025

After nine years of incredible leadership, we are announcing the retirement of CIRCA's Principal Investigator, Dr. Jennifer Hays-Grudo. Dr. Hays-Grudo has made invaluable contributions to CIRCA, and while her presence will be greatly missed, we are thrilled to see what is next for her in this new chapter.

Click below to read Dr. Hays-Grudo's farewell message and join us in extending our best wishes for her future endeavors!

www.circaok.com/post/dr-jennifer-hays-grudo-PI-thoughts-upon-retirement

05/08/2025

We're excited to say that CIRCA recently invested in some new equipment which will expand our chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) capabilities within epigenetic studies. ChIP is a powerful technique used to investigate protein-DNA interactions by isolating and analyzing complexes formed between proteins (such as transcription factors or modified histones) and DNA. This approach is instrumental in mapping transcription factor binding sites, characterizing epigenetic modifications, and deciphering gene regulatory networks - applications that are critical for advancing our understanding of immune response mechanisms and identifying potential therapeutic targets.

05/07/2025

Help us grow! Refer your friend to win a chance for free registration to our Fall Conference.

05/06/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Lucia Ciciolla on her recent appointment as President of the Oklahoma Association for Infant Mental Health (OK-AIHM)! Dr. Ciciolla has been involved with CIRCA since the initial phase of our grant, and has now spearheaded two separate CIRCA-sponsored studies on infant mental health: the Sleep and Mother Baby Regulation study (SLMBR) and her current study, Epigenetics of Mother-Baby Reactivity and Childhood Experiences (EMBRACE). You can read more about Lucia's research at https://www.camplab-ok.com/

We can't think of anyone more qualified and outstanding to assume this extraordinary new role. Congratulations, Lucia!

02/11/2025

We're so proud of our Biological Systems Core Director, Dr. Kyle Simmons, and the groundbreaking work that his team has been doing! Check out the article below to see his featured interview with NBC News.

There's growing evidence to suggest that GLP-1 drugs, which include semaglutide, may be useful for treating alcohol use disorder.

12/09/2024

We're hiring! Click the link below for all the details.

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Oklahoma State University

12/06/2024

All we want for Christmas is... another MRI machine 🧠

11/06/2024

The Rev. Dr. Karen Coleman joins GBH's All Things Considered host Arun Rath to share some advice.

09/18/2024

As some of you might have noticed- we've rebranded! We've chosen Monarch butterflies as the symbol to represent CIRCA for a few reasons:

Monarch butterflies are a resilient species: Despite facing the threat of extinction, Monarchs have continued to survive, largely because of the way that communities all over the world have stepped forward together to help save the species. Promoting resilience is not just the responsibility of individuals. We hope that through our research we can further educate communities on the reality of ACEs, and the importance of creating the relationships and resources that build resilience across the lifespan.

Butterflies are also often used to represent hope, change, and growth. We expect that our research will promote changes in behavior and policies that mitigate the negative effects of ACEs in individuals, families, and communities. Our aim is to create pathways for individuals to experience healing and growth after experiencing adversity and trauma.

Finally, the orange and black in a Monarch also ties into the colors of our institution, Oklahoma State University.

Visit our new website, www.circaok.com to read more about our goals and recent accomplishments here at CIRCA!

07/15/2024

The purpose of the EMBRACE study is to learn more about the risk and protective factors that impact parents’ emotional health during pregnancy and following childbirth. Specifically, we want to understand how both stressful and positive life experiences can shape how parents and their babies handl...

07/15/2024

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