Discipline(s):
Child/Adolescent Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Psychobiology
Area(s) of Expertise:
Children's Stress Reactivity, Mental Health, Contextual Risk Effects on Mental Health, Prevention/Intervention, Temperament, Stress Reactivity, Genetics-by-Environment Interactions, Parenting, Youth Mental Health Rights
E-Mail:
bushn@som.ucsf.edu
Background:
Nicki Bush is a child clinical psychologist with a background in basic research as well as clinical and community intervention with families from high-stress contexts. Her research has examined relations among biobehavioral predispositions (e.g., temperament and physiology) and stressful life circumstances (e.g., poverty, parenting, and neighborhood) in the prediction of a broad range of children's mental health outcomes. Her work also examines the impact of contextual factors on children’s biological stress responses as a possible mechanism underlying the robust inverse association between SES gradients and health.
As a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar, Dr. Bush is expanding her examination of contextual risk effects by infusing her models with a new understanding of biology (physiology, genetics, epigenetics) throughout early development, including the prenatal period. Her work integrates insights from social epidemiology, sociology, clinical psychology, and developmental psychobiology to elucidate the interplay of biology and context in youth development, as physiological systems mature and social environments change. A major goal of this work is to inform health policies and interventions aimed at reducing population health disparities.
Nicki completed a postdoctoral fellowship in children’s physiologic stress reactivity in 2009. She received her Masters of Science (2005) and PhD (2007) in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington, and completed her clinical training internship at the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Nicki also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology/Sociology from Gonzaga University. Prior to graduate school, Nicki worked as a clinical case manager and day treatment coordinator for chronically mentally ill adults.
Journal Articles:
Click here for a list of Nicole Bush's available publications in PubMed.
