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ARS Home Pacific West Area Davis, California Western Human Nutrition Research Center Obesity and Metabolism Research People Kevin Laugero





**LAUGERO LAB (CLINICAL STRESS AND HEALTH INNOVATION RESEARCH)** /ARSUserFiles/40255/Laugero Lab 3.JPG   Research Scientist
                              **Kevin Laugero, Ph.D.**
Research and Lead Scientist
Associate Adjunct Professor, UC Davis Department of Nutrition
Office: (530) 752-4173
Email address: kevin.laugero@usda.gov
**Research Interests**
The Clinical Stress and Health Innovation Research Lab studies the impact of the stress response on food intake habits, and how consumption of whole foods and diets influence stress vulnerability and stress-linked mental and cardiometabolic diseases.  Research is being conducted to understand physiological and metabolic underpinnings of inter-individual variability in stress responsiveness, and how this can be used to explain vulnerability or resilience to the negative mental and physical effects of chronic stress.
**Themes of the Clinical Stress and Health Innovation Research Lab**
• Nutritional and metabolic regulation of stress system responsiveness as it relates to prevention and management of stress-linked chronic disease.
• Nutritional and metabolic underpinnings of stress responsiveness, emotional dysregulation, and mental health.
• Impact of psychological stress and stress responsiveness on food choice, dietary habits, and adherence to dietary recommendations.
• Application of cutting-edge tools, such as wearable and health technology, to examine under the free living context and in the community relationships between stress, nutrition, and health.
• Expose stress phenotypes or trait characteristics that help explain person to person differences in vulnerability or resilience to disease.
• Impact of stress phenotypes on nutrition intervention and pharmacotherapeutic responsiveness or efficacy.
• Develop new access points and interventions for improving dietary adherence in youth and adults.
 Research Team
                              **ARS Employees**
Rashel Decant, Biological Science Lab Technician, Study Coordinator
Sarah Dimitratos, RD, Nutritional Biology Doctoral Candidate & USDA National Needs Fellow
Research Interests: intergenerational transmission of stress-motivated eating behavior in parent/adolescent dyads.
Melanie Hercules, Lab Assistant and Data Manager
Hoda Soltani, MPH, RD, Nutritional Biology Doctoral Candidate, Project Manager Healthy UC Davis
Research Interests: Human stress and nutrition interrelationships.
 Selected Publications(Clicking on the reprint iconReprint Icon  will take you to the publication reprint.)Excessive sugar consumption may be a difficult habit to break: a view from the brain and body-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Tryon, M.S., Stanhope, K.L., Epel, E.S., Mason, A.E., Brown, R., Medici, V., Havel, P.J., Laugero, K.D. 2015. Excessive sugar consumption may be a difficult habit to break: a view from the brain and body. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 100(6):2239-2247.  https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2014-4353.Chronic stress exposure may affect the brain's response to high calorie food cues and predispose to obesogenic eating habits-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Tryon, M.S., Carter, C.S., Decant, R.L., Laugero, K.D. 2013. Chronic stress exposure may affect the brain's response to high calorie food cues and predispose to obesogenic eating habits. Physiology and Behavior. 120:233-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.08.010.Preschool children with lower executive function may be more vulnerable to emotional-based eating in the absence of hunger-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Pieper, J.R., Laugero, K.D. 2012. Preschool children with lower executive function may be more vulnerable to emotional-based eating in the absence of hunger. Appetite. 62:103-l09.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.11.020.Pathways of parental influence on adolescent diet and obesity: A physiological stress-focused perspective-(Review Article) Dimitratos, S.M., Swartz, J.R., Laugero, K.D. 2022. Pathways of parental influence on adolescent diet and obesity: A physiological stress-focused perspective. Nutrition Reviews. 80(70):1800-1810. Article nuac004.  https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuac004.Having your cake and eating it too: A habit of comfort food may link chronic social stress exposure and acute stress-induced cortisol hyporesponsiveness.-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Tryon, M.S., Decant, R.L., Laugero, K.D. 2013. Having your cake and eating it too: A habit of comfort food may link chronic social stress exposure and acute stress-induced cortisol hyporesponsiveness. Physiology and Behavior. 114-115:32-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2013.02.018.Waking salivary cortisol associated with magnitude of cholesterol reduction in women fed a healthy whole-food diet for 8 weeks-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Soltani, H., Keim, N.L., Laugero, K.D. 2022. Waking salivary cortisol associated with magnitude of cholesterol reduction in women fed a healthy whole-food diet for 8 weeks. Current Developments in Nutrition. 6(5). Article nzac083.  https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzac083.Performance on the Iowa gambling task is related to magnitude of weight loss and salivary cortisol in a diet-induced weight loss intervention in overweight women-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Witbracht, M.G., Laugero, K.D., Van Loan, M.D., Adams, S.H., Keim, N.L. 2011. Performance on the Iowa gambling task is related to magnitude of weight loss and salivary cortisol in a diet-induced weight loss intervention in overweight women. Physiology and Behavior. 106(2):291-297.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.04.035.Dairy food consumption and meal-induced cortisol response interact to influence weight loss in overweight women undergoing a 12-week meal-controlled weight loss intervention-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Witbracht, M., Van Loan, M.D., Adams, S.H., Keim, N.L., Laugero, K.D. 2012. Dairy food consumption and meal-induced cortisol response interact to influence weight loss in overweight women undergoing a 12-week meal-controlled weight loss intervention. Journal of Nutrition. 143(1):45-52.Technician-scored stool consistency spans the full range of the bristol scale in a healthy US population and differs by diet and chronic stress load-(Peer Reviewed Journal) SLemay, D.G., Baldiviez, L.M., Chin, E.L., Spearman, S., Cervantes, E., Woodhouse, L.R., Keim, N.L., Stephensen, C.B., Laugero, K.D. 2021. Technician-scored stool consistency spans the full range of the Bristol scale in a healthy US population and differs by diet and chronic stress load. Journal of Nutrition. 151(6):1443-1452. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxab019.Increasing dietary carbohydrate as part of a healthy whole food diet intervention dampens eight week changes in salivary cortisol and cortisol responsiveness-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Soltani, H., Keim, N.L., Laugero, K.D. 2019. Increasing dietary carbohydrate as part of a healthy whole food diet intervention dampens eight week changes in salivary cortisol and cortisol responsiveness. Nutrients. 11(11). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112563.Diet quality for sodium and vegetables mediate effects of whole food diets on 8-week changes in stress load-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Soltani, H., Keim, N.L., Laugero, K.D. 2018. Diet quality for sodium and vegetables mediate effects of whole food diets on 8-week changes in stress load. Nutrients. 10(11):1606.  https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111606.A review of the health benefits of cherries-(Review Article) Kelley, D.S., Adkins, Y.C., Laugero, K.D. 2018. A review of the health benefits of cherries. Nutrients. 10(3):368.   https://doi:10.3390/nu10030368.Association between barriers and facilitators to meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and body weight status of caregiver-child dyads: The HEALTH study-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Nicklas, T.A., Liu, Y., Giovanni, M., Jahns, L.A., Tucker, K., Laugero, K.D., Bogle, M.L., Chester, D.N. 2016. Association between barriers and facilitators to meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and body weight status of caregiver-child dyads: The HEALTH study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. doi:10.3945/ajcn.115.123372.Relationship between perceived stress and dietary and activity patterns in older adults participating in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study-(Peer Reviewed Journal)Laugero, K.D., Falcon, L.M., Tucker, K.L. 2011. Relationship between perceived stress and dietary and activity patterns in older adults participating in the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study. Appetite. 56:194-204.Peripherally administered amylin inhibits stress-like behaviors and enhances cognitive performance-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Laugero, K.D., Tryon, M., Mack, C., Caldarone, B., Hanania, T., McGonigle, P., Roland, B., Parkes, D. 2021. Peripherally administered amylin inhibits stress-like behaviors and enhances cognitive performance. Physiology and Behavior. 244. Article 113668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113668.Maternal cortisol and stress are associated with birth outcomes, but are not affected by lipid-based micronutrient supplements during pregnancy: an analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial in rural Malawi-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Stewart, C.P., Oakes, B.M., Laugero, K.D., Ashorn, U., Harjunmaa, U., Kumwenda, C., Chaima, D., Maleta, K., Ashorn, P., Dewey, K.G. 2015. Maternal cortisol and stress are associated with birth outcomes, but are not affected by lipid-based micronutrient supplements during pregnancy: an analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial in rural Malawi. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth. 15:346. doi: 10.1186/s12884-015-0793-8.Energy intake and season interact to influence physiological stress load among midlife women-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Laugero, K.D., Paul, D., Jahns, L. 2021. Energy intake and season interact to influence physiological stress load among midlife women. Stress: The International Journal on Biology of Stress. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2021.1931106.Infant cortisol stress-response is associated with thymic function and vaccine response-(Peer Reviewed Journal) Huda, M., Ahmad, S.D., Alam, J., Khanam, A., Alam, N., Raqib, R., Laugero, K.D., Stephensen, C.B. 2018. Infant cortisol stress-response is associated with thymic function and vaccine response. Stress: The International Journal on Biology of Stress. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2018.1484445.
 Prominent ProjectsImproving Public Health by Understanding Metabolic and Bio-Behavioral Effects of Following Recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for AmericansIn-House Appropriated (D)Accession Number:436165Improvement of Cardiovascular Health, Insulin Resistance, and Lipid Status by Bing Sweet Cherry Powder Consumption in Overweight Human SubjectsReimbursable Cooperative Agreement (R)Accession Number:434177
 Methods, Technique, and Software
                              **Methods and Technique**
• Stress Testing & Stress System Responsiveness
• Functional Brain Imaging
• Wearable & Health Technology
• Remote Science
• Continuous Blood Pressure Monitoring
• Autonomic Nervous System Monitoring
• Cognitive Function
• EIA and RIA
• Body Composition & Metabolism
• Food Intake and Behavior
• Physical Activity


        
        
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            Last Modified:
3/23/2023

    

    
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