Assistant Professor of Public Health
Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research (IISBR)
University of California Irvine
Research Interests:
- Mental Health: Depression, FASD, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder
- Trauma/Early Life Adversity/Stress
- Neuroscience: Neuroimaging, Clinical (human)
- Neuroendocrine: HPA, HPG
- Public Health
- Early Development: Prenatal, Postnatal, Childhood, Adolescence
- Health disparities
My Lab:
Research Summary:
Dr. Uban received her Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Uban’s research utilizes multi-modal neuroimaging and salivary biosciences to non-invasively examine brain-hormone relationships in children and adolescents. Specifically, her research focuses on the impact of prenatal exposure to alcohol on neurobiological propensity for cognitive and mental health problems in males and females, with alterations in neuroendocrine function serving as an underlying mechanism for increased vulnerability. Elucidating sex differences in the impact of prenatal teratogen exposure on brain and hormone (stress and gonadal) systems is an overarching theme of Dr. Uban’s research. She aims to improve mental health outcomes among those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder via targeted neuroendocrine interventions.