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We are a federally-funded Phase 2 COBRE grant located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We are now in our 8th year of a 10-year, $20M award from the National Institute of Health (NIH).

Our goal is to create a research infrastructure to expand knowledge on the effects of early stress and trauma leading to the development of evidence-based programs and interventions to address the high rate of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) within Oklahoma and beyond.

CIRCA's Principal Investigator

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Dr. Jennifer Hays-Grudo
Principal Investigator

Dr. Jennifer Hays-Grudo is a Regents Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at OSU Center for Health Sciences. As well as being the Director here at CIRCA, she is also one of the principal investigators of the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD), the NIH-funded study that will follow pregnant women and their children for 10 years to investigate the effects of prenatal substance exposure on children's development.

Dr. Hays-Grudo is the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal, Adversity and Resilience Science, published by Springer/Nature. She is the co-author of Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences: A Developmental Perspective, published in 2020 by the American Psychological Association, and Raising a Resilient Child in a World of Adversity, published by APA's Life Tools Books in 2023.

Making Global Change

CIRCA's research focus on childhood adversity supports the belief that the effects of trauma are not permanent and that all people can heal and grow.

We believe that interdisciplinary and integrative research on the mechanisms involved in the effects of childhood adversity on health and development is urgently needed to prevent current and future health disparities as well as the intergenerational transmission of poverty. The long-term goal of the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Adversity is the development of more effective and sustainable prevention and intervention strategies to interrupt the cycle of generational trauma and toxic stress.

Achieving these goals promotes and enhances the mission of Oklahoma State as a land-grant institution dedicated to using knowledge derived from research to improve the lives of the citizens of the state and throughout the nation. Oklahoma currently ranks in the lowest 10% on all measures of children’s health and well-being.

In 2014, Oklahoma had the highest prevalence of ACEs among all states in the nation, with 17% of children 0 to 18 already having 3 or more ACEs (Child Trends, 2014) and continues to have prevalence rates in more recent surveys (Child Trends, 2018).

Creating the nation’s first interdisciplinary center focused on understanding the mitigating negative effects of childhood adversity on health, developmental and economic consequences realizes OSU vision of creating “a better Oklahoma, nation, and world by advancing the quality of life for all…fulfilling the obligations of a first-class, land-grant educational institution.”

1. Explore the biological, cognitive, and socioemotional effects of childhood adversity on health status, cognitive, social, and emotional development, and behavior in a variety of high-risk populations using a wide range of methods;

2. Develop more effective interventions for children and adolescents exposed to adversity to decrease their risk of physical and mental health problems;

3. Create a robust and adaptable research infrastructure that includes training and support for all-stage researchers in biomarker data collection and analyses, complex study design and analysis, and translational, human subjects and community research strategies and methods, constructing an interdisciplinary team with cross-trained and translational research skills.

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Visualizing Our Purpose

We've chosen Monarch butterflies as the symbol to represent CIRCA for a few reasons:

Monarch butterflies are a resilient species: Despite facing the threat of extinction, Monarchs have continued to survive, largely because of the way that communities all over the world have stepped forward together to help save the species. Promoting resilience is not just the responsibility of individuals. We hope that through our research we can further educate communities on the reality of ACEs, and the importance of creating the relationships and resources that build resilience across the lifespan.

Butterflies are also often used to represent hope, change, and growth.

We expect that our research will promote changes in behavior and policies that mitigate the negative effects of ACEs in individuals, families, and communities.
Our aim is to create pathways for individuals to experience healing and growth after experiencing adversity and trauma.

Finally, the orange and black in a Monarch also ties into the colors of our institution, Oklahoma State University.