Admin Core
Primary Functions:
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Providing administrative, fiscal, and scientific management of the Center
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Supporting the research and career development goals of CIRCA research project leaders (RPLs)
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Coordinating the development of sustainable research cores supporting interdisciplinary approaches of the study of childhood adversity and its effects on health
Bringing Visibility to Oklahoma
Interest in the effects of early life adversity is a rapidly expanding field of inquiry. Advances in neuroimaging, epigenetics, and developmental psychopathology have improved our ability to study the effects of adversity, trauma, and stress on health and development. Building on this interest, CIRCA was established in 2016 as the first national interdisciplinary research center designed to integrate both biological and behavioral approaches to the study of adversity and resilience. CIRCA provides both direct support for research projects, but also provides technical training and assistance through its research cores, allowing researchers to learn and apply new scientific techniques and analyses. We have funded and mentored more than 20 researchers who are seeking to better understand and reduce the effects of ACEs. They have published dozens of research studies and have been awarded highly competitive research awards. Our researchers are highly sought-after as speakers at national and international conferences, attract and train high-caliber students from related labs throughout the U.S. and the world, and place graduates and post-doctoral fellows in world-class research institutions following their training in the Center.​​
We hosted the first Adversity and Resilience Research conference in October 2019 with interdisciplinary events and speakers from across the U.S. In June 2024, researchers from CIRCA formed the first International Resilience Coalition, presenting work on PACEs in Japan, the Netherlands and the U.S. to an international audience in Lisbon, Portugal. CIRCA scientists served in a leadership role on a statewide legislative trauma-informed taskforce, founded the Adversity and Resilience Science journal, and continue to innovate by applying the research on trauma treatment and prevention for first responders through a collaborative program with the Oklahoma Department of Health and the CDC (Mindful First Responders). Drs. Hays-Grudo and Morris published the first scholarly book on ACES (Adverse and Protective Childhood Experiences: A Developmental Perspective (APA, 2020), and a book for the public Raising a Resilient Child in a World of Adversity: Effective Parenting for Every Family, published by APA’s Life Tools in 2023.
