Visiting Fulbright scholar to investigate links between early stress and addiction

caroline.zentner — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 15:47:56 +0000

Dr. John Ziker, Chair of the anthropology department at Boise State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Idaho, will be spending the fall semester at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as the Fulbright Canada-Palix Foundation Distinguished Visiting Research Chair in Brain Science, and Child and Family Health and Wellness.

“It’s an honour to get this award. It’s facilitating this new research direction and collaboration,” he says.

Ziker is one of three professors to receive the Fulbright Canada award. Dr. Lloyd Taylor, a psychology professor from South Carolina, will conduct research into the bullying and ostracism of adolescents with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary. Dr. Patrick Carnes, an authority on sex addiction and recovery, will conduct research to identify specific gene variants associated with sex addiction at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. Today, the three are participating in a panel discussion at the U of C to formally launch the second year of the program.

While he’s at the U of L, Ziker will conduct research to test hypotheses about behavioural pathways for the transmission of stress responses from one generation to another. Using Statistics Canada’s National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), Ziker will look at 100 variables across the 15 years of the study. He’ll be looking for correlations between factors like parental use of alcohol during pregnancy, low birth weight, premature birth, parental depression and family dynamics.

“I’m interested in a possible behavioural pathway to the intergenerational transmission of alcoholism, drug use and depression,” he says. “The hypothesis is that if individuals are in a harsh environment, they would tend to be more present-oriented and possibly be more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. Also, it’s more likely they will be having children earlier in their lives so they might put the next generation under the same conditions they were put under.”

Ziker will use both life history theory and behavioural ecology approaches. Life history theory examines the timing of major life course events while behavioural ecology looks at how individuals adapt to social, physical and environmental characteristics.

“Certain periods in the lifespan are really critical for the development of healthy brains and healthy social relationships. The prenatal and early childhood environment is very important, and research shows that traumatic events in middle childhood can increase morbidity and mortality rates. When you have really harsh environments, it tends to shorten the lifespan and people adapt to that by having an earlier age of first birth,” he says.

Based on the hypothesis that social support might moderate the negative effects of harsh environments, Ziker will also examine data on support networks to see if they have a beneficial effect.

The results of Ziker’s research will add to the body of knowledge about the developmental causes of health and disease.

Ziker is hosted by Dr. Louise Barrett, a U of L psychology professor and Canada Research Chair in Cognition, Evolution and Behaviour. As part of his Fulbright award, Ziker will participate in some outreach activities for the Palix Foundation’s Alberta Family Wellness Initiative. Following today’s panel discussion in Calgary, Ziker is scheduled to give a talk about ways to improve outcomes for Lethbridge children and their families on Monday, Oct. 3 at the Lethbridge Fall Community Reception 2016 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Markin Hall.

Ziker is familiar with Alberta from previous visits; he met his wife, Shelanda Kujala (BMgt ’00), in Calgary when he was a Fulbright scholar at U of C in 2008.

Fulbright Canada is a binational, treaty-based, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization with a mandate to identify the best and brightest minds in the United States and Canada and engage them in residential academic exchange. The Palix Foundation is a proactive private foundation that established the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative in 2007 to better understand and address how intergenerational factors in children’s lives impact their health and well-being throughout life.

Researchers Advocate for Positive Approach to Rural, Community Health

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:08:20 +0000

A noted expert in rural nursing and community health issues will deliver a province wide teleconference and in-person seminar about rural and community health issues on Monday, July 25.

Alberta Health Services, Community & Rural Department and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Faculty of Health Sciences are jointly presenting a talk by Dr. Jeri L. Bigbee, who is currently serving as the Faculty of Health Sciences first visiting Fulbright Scholar at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Bigbee is a leader in rural nursing whose research focuses on public health nursing in rural and frontier communities in the United States. Bigbee's talk takes place on Monday, July 25, beginning at 10 a.m. in County Hall at Chinook Regional Hospital. It will also be broadcast to healthcare workers province-wide via the Telehealth network.

"We are extremely lucky to have Dr. Bigbee here in Alberta. Her expertise in rural health is a wonderful resource for Alberta Health Services and our partner organizations," said Rosalie Case, AHS Executive Director, Rural & Suburban Hospital Services & Supports.

"Her knowledge and research will help us better understand the unique needs in rural health and how to plan services according to those needs."

Case added that Dr. Bigbee's in depth understanding and emphasis on population health needs is in-line with the current direction of rural health planning in Alberta.

A Nurse Practitioner and Jody DeMeyer Endowed Chair at Boise State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Boise, Idaho, Bigbee earned her doctorate from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Texas in Austin and has been a nurse educator since 1980 in Wyoming, Nevada and California.

"One of the goals for Dr. Bigbee's visit is to forge collaborative research relationships with individuals here who are involved in rural nursing," said Dr. Judith Kulig, a U of L Health Sciences rural nursing expert.

"Jointly-conducted research would provide an opportunity to determine the differences and similarities between our countries in terms of the number of rural nurses providing care and the impacts they have on population health."

Kulig said that while Bigbee is in the community, she will meet with faculty and graduate students to share her expertise in rural nursing and in nursing education in general. "We are really hopeful that Jeri's visit will lead to future collaborations including visits by our faculty to Boise State ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ."

Event details:

Date: Monday, July 25, 2011
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Location: Chinook Regional Hospital County Hall (Telehealth available)
RSVP: Romina Senneker (403-388-6013 or romina.senneker@albertahealthservices.ca)

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Visiting Fulbright scholar to investigate links between early stress and addiction

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Researchers Advocate for Positive Approach to Rural, Community Health

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