WORLD HEALTH SURVEY PLUS (WHS+)
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Building the Methodological Toolkit in Biological Anthropology
In 2016, Snodgrass and Eick received an NSF grant from the Biological Anthropology program (“Building the Methodological Toolkit in Biological Anthropology: Dried Blood Spot Methods Development for Addressing Key Evolutionary and Biocultural Questions”; BCS-1638786) to develop and validate dried blood spot biomarkers for myeloperoxidase (pANCA), TPOAb, interleukin-10 (IL-10), carboxylated osteocalcin (cOC), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRACP5b), and Klotho. Maureen Devlin (University of Michigan), Tara Cepon-Robins (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs), Paul Kowal (WHO and UO), and Larry Sugiyama (UO) are senior personnel on the project. We are currently running a collection project (Eugene 200 Version 2 or E2V2) of 200 matched fingerprick DBS, venous DBS, serum, and plasma samples from 200 people in the Eugene/Springfield area. The project involves graduate students Theresa Gildner and Elisabeth Goldman. The E2V2 project staff includes the following undergraduates: Ali Bedbury, Kailyn Brainard, Lucy Davis, Allison Dona, Eliza Hallett, Jordan Lofton, Tigest Mequanint, Isabel Moore, Lillie Scarth, Maddie Smith. It also involves high school student Eli Ablow Measelle.
The Couples Project
Since 2007, the lab has been involved with a large-scale collaborative project (Couples) funded primarily by an NIH NICHD R01 grant. The project, which builds on a multi-decade longitudinal project conducted by the Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC), uses multiple biomarkers to trace the pathways from conflictual and dysfunctional romantic relationships to chronic psychosocial stress to the development and progression of chronic disease. The lab is completing immunoassay analysis of >10,000 biomarker samples (including cortisol, amylase, CRP, and EBV antibodies) from two waves of data collection. A particularly important finding from the research focuses on the effects of intimate partner violence on the dysregulation of cortisol rhythms; this research was published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology (Kim et al., 2015).
Stress, discrimination, and health among Latin American immigrants in Oregon
The lab has been involved with a collaborative effort with scientists from the UO College of Education’s Center for Equity Promotion (Drs. Heather McClure and Charles Martinez) and community partner Farmworker Housing Development Corporation (FHDC) to study various dimensions of discrimination, chronic psychosocial stress, and health among Latino residents (including farmworkers) in Oregon (McClure et al. 2010 a&b, 2013, 2014 a&b, 2015; Squires et al. 2012). The project has been funded by UO, OSLC, and an NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities R24 grant.
WHO’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE)
The Snodgrass Lab plays a key role in the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE), an ongoing NIH National Institute on Aging funded study that compiles comprehensive longitudinal information on the health and well-being of adult populations (n=~42,000) and the aging process in six countries (China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa). The lab supports SAGE’s goal of building lab capacity in the study nations by providing coordination and support for labs in the six SAGE countries. In addition, we are actively developing new DBS assays (e.g., apololipoprotein B [apoB]), optimizing others (interleukin-6 [IL-6], CRP, and telomere length [TL]) for application in SAGE, and developing a replacement DBS assay for EBV antibodies (since the validated kit was discontinued; Eick et al. 2016). Click here for additional information on other work pursued by the Eugene office of the SAGE project.
The Shuar Health and Life History Project
The lab also supports research by the Shuar Health and Life History Project, a long-term study in Ecuador co-directed by Snodgrass and Dr. Larry Sugiyama that involves several UO graduate students (Theresa Gildner, Chris Harrington, and Josh Schrock), a Harvard graduate student (Heather Shattuck-Heidorn), and a Yale graduate student (Dorsa Amir). Senior personnel on the project include Dr. Rick Bribiescas (Yale), Dr. Tara Cepon-Robins (Colorado-Colorado Springs), Dr. Melissa Liebert (Oregon), Dr. Felicia Madimenos (CUNY-Queens), and Dr. Sam Urlacher (CUNY-Hunter). The Shuar project involves studies of the effects of stress on health that include major lab components. Furthermore, the Snodgrass Lab allows the study of human life history trade-offs in growth and immune function using biomarkers such as C-reactive protein and immunoglobulins E and G.
The Indigenous Siberian Health and Adaptation Project
The Indigenous Siberian Health and Adaptation Project is an international collaborative research project directed by Snodgrass and Dr. Bill Leonard that focuses on two primary issues related to metabolic adaptation and health change among indigenous Siberians: 1) adaptation to the circumpolar environment, with a focus on evaluating evidence for metabolic adaptation to cold stress; and 2) how social and economic changes among native Siberians influence contemporary population health with an emphasis on cardiovascular and metabolic disease. The project has collected biological samples since 2001 but all analyses since 2007 have been conducted in Russia in collaboration with the Yakutsk Medical Center (Yakutsk, Russia) and the State Scientific Center of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences (Novosibirsk, Russia).
Non-Human Primate Endocrinology and Sociosexual Behavior
The lab supports several nascent research projects on non‐human primates, including a study led by Dr. Frances White and graduate student Klaree Boose that examines links between sociosexual behavior and urinary cortisol and oxytocin among captive bonobos from the Columbus Zoo. The project also involves UO graduate student Colin Brand.
UO Biomarker Cluster 