Prenatal and early-life exposure to stress has been shown to activate an infant’s neuroendocrine response to stress. This stress stimulation at or before birth is likely to contribute to a range of morbidities, however, very little research has been done to determine the specific risk factors associated with early-life stress exposure. This is due, in part, to the fact that measuring an infant’s physiological response to stress is difficult, and correlating stress response to a specific growth and/or developmental outcome is also challenging. Dr. Rogido and her team are interested in addressing many of the unanswered questions related to early-life stress exposure. For example, she is interested in understanding whether an infant’s neuroendocrine response to stress is gender-specific; and whether changes in specific steroid hormones, such as glucocorticoids, can be linked to the clinical outcomes observed in neonates.
