Population Wellness Lab
The Population Wellness Lab, led by Dr. Christy Denckla, studies how adversity, including trauma, loss, and bereavement, affects mental health, physical health, and well-being. We are driven by the ultimate question: how do people adapt and recover from these adverse events? What is the difference between normal grief and pathological grief? How does loss shape our understanding of the world and ourselves? Ultimately, we aim to prevent trauma exposure as well as the subsequent cascade of physical and mental adverse effects at the population health level.
677 Huntington Avenue
Kresge Building, Room 720 Boston, MA 02115
For a complete list of publications, please see Dr. Christy Denckla’s Harvard Catalyst Profile and PubMed Bibliography.
Select Publications
Social Determinants Associated With Exposure to Childhood Parental Bereavement and Subsequent Risk for Psychiatric Disorders Denckla CA, Averkamp N, Slopen N, Espinosa Dice AL, Shear MK, Williams DR, Koenen KC. JAMA Network Open, 2022 Oct 3; 5:e2239616; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9623444
Patterning of individual variability in neurocognitive health among South African women exposed to childhood maltreatment Denckla CA, Lee SY, Kim R, Spies G, Vasterling JJ, Subramanian SV, Seedat S. Sci Rep. 2021 Mar 23;11(1):6669. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7988062.
Mental health among bereaved youth in the ALSPAC birth cohort: Consideration of early sociodemographic precursors, cognitive ability, and type of loss Denckla, CA, *Espinosa Dice AL, Slopen N, Koenen KC, Tiemeier H. Develop & Psychopath. 2023. Jun 5; 1-2. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10696131
A systematic review of the effects of chronic, slow-onset climate change on mental health Denckla CA, † Burrows K†, Hahn J, Schiff JE; Okuzono S S; Randriamady H; Mita C, Kubzansky L D, Koenen K C, L Sarah R. A Nature Mental Health. 2024; 2, 228-243. †contributed equally. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12520228
Bereavement, Memorial Attendance, and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Results from the Nurses’ Health Study Denckla CA, Hahn J, Cowden R. G, Ho S, Gao K, Dice A.L.E, Shear MK. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 2023; 31(12):1045-1057. PMCID: PMC10299945 PMID: 37460375
Psychological resilience: an update on definitions, a critical appraisal, and research recommendations Denckla CA, Cicchetti D, Kubzansky LD, Seedat S, Teicher MH, Williams DR, Koenen KC. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2020 Nov 10;11(1):1822064. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7678676.
Detecting risk for depression and anxiety symptoms among older bereaved women using text-based analysis in the Nurses’ Health Study II *Hillcoat A, *Shrestha M, *Jeon E, Rich-Edwards J, Denckla CA. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2025 PMID: 40083290
Neurocognition and academic achievement among bereaved children in the Generation R Cohort tBolhuis, K, *tEspinosa Dice AL, Jansen PW, Tiemeier H, Denckla CA. Scientific Reports. 2024,14(1), 21187. PMID: 39261571 PMCID: PMC11391039