Stephanie Caligiuri
William & Mary, VA·Physiology
College students face heavy academic, social and financial pressure, and many eat poorly. Together, chronic stress and poor nutrition may set the stage for early heart and metabolic disease.
- Fields
Physiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Public Health & Epidemiology
- Topics
flaxseed
nutrition intervention
allostatic load
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2029
What they work on
- Test whether eating flaxseed muffins daily for six weeks lowers allostatic load in young adults, measured by cortisol, melatonin, BDNF, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial activity, compared with control muffins in a double-blind trial.
- Determine whether flaxseed improves cardiovascular and brain responses to acute stress, using blood pressure monitoring and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) of the prefrontal cortex.
- Track sleep, heart rate variability, physical activity, mood and perceived stress with wearable biosensor watches and validated questionnaires, using them as covariates and exploratory outcomes of flaxseed intake.
More about the research
The team's survey of more than 100 students found high rates of stress, depression, anxiety and dangerously high blood pressure, along with widespread nutrient shortfalls. Students who took in more alpha-linolenic acid (ALA, a plant omega-3 fat), magnesium and fiber reported less stress. All three nutrients are plentiful in flaxseed.
Why it matters
Young adults, especially stressed and undernourished college students, may already be on a path toward cardiovascular disease and mood disorders. If flaxseed lowers biological stress burden, it could offer a cheap, practical whole-food strategy for early prevention. The results could inform public health and campus programs that build stress resilience, protect heart health and improve sleep and mood.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Anna Lau
University of California-Los Angeles, CA·Psychology
Test whether a tailored mindfulness program reduces emotion suppression, experiential avoidance and unmodulated perseverance among high-achieving, low-income Black, Latinx and Asian American students, compared with a study-skills control, in a 504-student randomized trial.
Martha Belury
Ohio State University, OH·Medicine & Clinical Research
Test whether daily supplementation with linoleic acid-rich vegetable oil improves muscle strength and physical mobility in older adults with probable sarcopenia, in a double-blind randomized controlled trial.
Lynne Wagner
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC·Psychology
Test whether FoRtitude 2.0, an 8-week online program teaching cognitive behavior therapy and health management strategies with telephone coaching, reduces fear of recurrence at 3 months more than an attention control or usual care in breast cancer survivors.
The school
William & Mary: 11 labs on PI Pages, $95M a year on research, 67 research doctorates a year.
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