Bria Gresham, PhD, is an interdisciplinary scientist whose expertise lies at the intersection of developmental psychology, biological psychology, and population health. She is currently an instructor-level faculty member at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Department of Psychology and Biobehavioral Sciences. Her program of research at St. Jude is focused on advancing our understanding of how treatment-related toxicities and chronic stress shape health outcomes among childhood cancer survivors and uncovering biological mechanisms underlying these associations to inform the development of novel interventions.
Gresham received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, during which time she also completed a three-year training program in Population Studies through the institution’s Minnesota Population Center. During her graduate studies, Dr. Gresham established a robust program of research aimed at understanding how chronic stress shapes biological functioning and health outcomes from childhood through emerging adulthood from a health equity inequities lens and a life course perspective, investigating the nuanced effects of duration and timing of stress exposures on health. This research, which has predominantly focused on the neighborhood stressors (e.g., concentrated poverty, violence), has yielded 12 first-authored peer-reviewed publications and several additional co-authored publications.
Prior to arriving at St. Jude, Gresham’s training and research focused on non-clinical populations. Gresham joined the Master’s in Clinical Investigations program at the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to receive formal training in designing, conducting, and disseminating translational clinical research. This training will provide the requisite expertise to support her transition to an independent investigator focused on pediatric cancer research that has the potential to improve health outcomes among pediatric cancer survivors.
Hometown: Elgin, Illinois
Education:
2024 PhD, Developmental Psychology (Minor in Population Studies) – University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2022 MA, Developmental Psychology – University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2019 BS, Psychology – University of Alabama at Birmingham
2017 AAS, Paralegal – Gadsden State Community College
Awards/Honors/Scholarships:
2024 Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2024 Student Travel Award, Society for Research in Development
2024 Alumni Society Advanced Study Scholarship for Outstanding Graduate Students, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2024 Graduate Summer Research Fellowship, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2023 Dr. Carrie DePasquale Memorial Scholarship, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2022 Predoctoral Fellowship (Honorable Mention), Ford Foundation
2021 Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Honorable Mention), National Science Foundation
2020 Creating Inclusive Cohorts Fellowship, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
2019 Undergraduate Student Poster Award, Alabama Psychological Association
2019 RISE Research Award (Honorable Mention), Association for Psychological Science
2018 National Alumni Society Award, University of Alabama at Birmingham
2017 Outstanding Paralegal Student Award, Gadsden State Community College
Publications:
Gresham, B., Sackett, C., Karras, E., Donzella, B., Gunnar, M. (2025). Exposure to community violence and cortisol reactivity: An exploratory analysis of the role of coping. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 107659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2025.107659
Lewis, L.1, Gresham, B.1, Riegelman, A., Ip, K. (2025). Neighborhood conditions and neurodevelopment. A systematic review of brain structure in children and adolescents. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 75, 101600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2025.101600
Gresham, B., Morency, M., Corcoran, F., Kunkel, J., & Riegelman, A. (2025). Exposure to community violence and biomarkers of allostatic load: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000488
Gresham, B. & Karatekin, C. (2025). A scoping review of neighborhood effects and health among children and adolescents: Measurement and design characteristics. Journal of Community Psychology, 53(4), e70013. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.70013
Gresham, B., Karras, E., Donzella, B., & Gunnar, M.R. (2025). Comparison of a one- vs. two-visit online version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-OL). Psychoneuroendocrinology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.10727