University Lecture Series

Racial Climate, Racial Identity, and Inclusion on Campus

October 17, 2019 Alkek 250

Dr. Helms is the Director of the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture and hold the Augustus Long Professorship in the Department of Counseling, Developomental, and Educational Psychology at Boston College. She is the author of "A Race is a Nice Thing to Have: A Guide to Being a White Person or Understanding the White Persons in Your Life."

Professor, Department of Acute and Chronic Care, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University

Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research - Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Douglas A. Granger is a psychoneuroendocrinology researcher who is well known for his development of methods related to saliva collection and analysis and the theoretical and statistical integration of salivary measures into developmental research. At the Johns Hopkins University, he holds joint appointments at the School of Nursing, School of Medicine, and Bloomberg School of Public Health. His studies have been instrumental in the conceptualization and analysis of biosocial relationships involving child well-being, parent-child and family relationships, as well as how these biosocial links moderate and mediate the effects of early adversity and stress on children’s adjustment. Dr. Granger is a leading expert engaged in work focused on the discovery, measurement, and application of analytes (hormones, antibodies, chemicals, DNA) in saliva. He has published more than 120 studies and is also a faculty scholar-entrepreneur. Early in his career, Dr. Granger transferred technology, founded, and served as President of Salimetrics LLC*, a salivary laboratory and product development company. At Johns Hopkins, he has created and now leads the Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research which facilitates the integration of salivary analytes into prevention science, nursing, public health, and medicine.

Integrating salivary bioscience into studies of children, youth, and Families

April 8th, 2013 2:00PM -  3:15 PM - UAC 275

Within the past three decades, discoveries that enabled the noninvasive measurement of the psychobiology of stress (in saliva) have added new dimensions to the study of health and human development. This widespread enthusiasm has led to somewhat of a renaissance in behavioral science. At the cutting edge, the focus is on testing innovative theoretical models of the effects of the social environment on behavior as a function of multilevel biosocial processes. Historically the focus has been on salivary cortisol and correlates of individual differences in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In the past 5 years, renewed interest in salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) -- a surrogate marker of the autonomic/sympathetic nervous system component of the psychobiology of stress-- has expanded this focus in important ways. Dr. Douglas A. Granger, Professor and Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research at Johns Hopkins University, will speak about his research on salivary cortisol, sAA, and present for the first time new data on the correlates and concomitants of salivary nerve growth factor.

Integrating Salivary Bioscience into Developmental, Behavioral, and Health Sciences: Current prospects and future directions

April 8th, 2013 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM - Alkek 250

In the history of science, major advances are often made at the interface created by interdisciplinary integration. Advances in biotechnology, coupled with the recent characterization of a vast array of analytes and biomarkers in saliva, have created the opportunity to measure components of biological systems in oral fluids and apply knowledge gained from those measurements to a diverse spectrum of research. The implications are profound--from a single drop of saliva, information can be obtained about the psychobiology of stress, infectious disease history, environmental exposure to chemicals, oral health status, and genetic variability relevant to behavior, cognition, and health. Furthermore, saliva sample collection is typically quick, minimally invasive, cost-efficient, and requires only minimal training. Dr. Douglas A. Granger, Professor and Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research at Johns Hopkins University, a pioneer of salivary bioscience, will present an overview of this emerging field and its implications for the public at 6 pm in Alkek 250 on the Texas State University Campus. Learn more about Dr. Granger's research and activities at http://www.nursing.jhu.edu/faculty_research/research/centers/salivary-bioscience/index.html.