CANCELED: Teresa Seeman: Aging Trajectories Through Biopsychosocial Lens

Due to Hurricane Dorian, this week’s interdisciplinary research seminar series lecture has been canceled. Please visit https://www.cpc.unc.edu/events/2019-2020-interdisciplinary-research-seminars for the latest news about the 2019-2020 seminar series.
On Friday, September 6, Teresa Seeman will present “Aging Trajectories Through Biopsychosocial Lens” as part of the Carolina Population Series 2019-2020 Interdisciplinary Research Seminar Series.

Teresa Seeman, PhD, is Professor of Epidemiology at the Fielding School of Public Health and of Medicine in the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Trained as an epidemiologist, with post-doctoral training in neuroendocrinology, her research interests are inter-disciplinary, focusing on role of social and psychological factors in health and aging, with particular interest in elucidating the biological pathways through which such factors impact on health. Working in both community- and laboratory-based contexts, her work has documented the widespread health effects of protective social factors (e.g., social relationships) and psychological characteristics (e.g., control beliefs, perceptions of self-efficacy), including effects on risks for physical and cognitive decline as well as overall longevity. Her research has also contributed to our understanding of how these social and psychological influences are mediated through multiple major biological regulatory systems. She has been a leader in empirical research on a multi-systems view of biological risk – allostatic load. Her work has shown that levels of allostatic load predict subsequent health outcomes, and that differences in allostatic load are related to social factors, including levels of social integration and support as well as more traditional measures of socio-economic status [SES]: higher allostatic load seen among those reporting less social integration and/or support and lower SES. Her current research is focused on developing more integrated models that incorporate consideration of life-course experiences with stressful and protective conditions and the cumulative impacts of these experiences on major biological regulatory systems that determine trajectories of health and longevity.

The Carolina Population Center hosts a weekly Friday lecture on a topic that enhances our understanding of population-related changes. The 2019-2020 Interdisciplinary Research Seminars will feature talks related to aging trajectories, health behavior, the Zika virus, and the beverage tax – among other topics.

All seminars are held from 12:00 – 1:00 pm in Carolina Square Room 2002 at 123 W. Franklin St. unless otherwise indicated.

Instructors: To arrange for class attendance, contact CPC (cpc@unc.edu) by the Monday before the seminar. Streaming may be available and must be arranged at least one week in advance.