Bria Gresham, PhD

It is easy to view health as something largely influenced by biology and disease. But to fully understand the complex things that influence health, it is crucial we take a wide view. To gain a better understanding of things that impact health in survivors of childhood cancer, my research examines both treatment-related side effects and chronic stress and how they influence the health outcomes for this population. My goal is to uncover how both biology and lived experience/environments shape health outcomes and develop interventional supports for patients and survivors of childhood cancer.

Adopting a broad view of health — one that incorporates both biology and socioeconomic and political contexts — is crucial for ensuring a robust examination and understanding of health outcomes. For survivors of childhood cancer, this is an imperative that I aim to address in my ongoing research. 

I am leading a comprehensive systematic review of neighborhood determinants — poverty, air pollution, crime — examined in the context of childhood cancer and conducted across the cancer care continuum. This review focuses on a wide range of health and wellbeing outcomes and diverse cancers, ensuring our understanding of health outcomes and how they impact a person’s overall wellbeing is inclusive and robust.

Additionally, I am conducting empirical research that investigates neighborhood opportunity on mental, neurocognitive and physical health outcomes in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer. I also seek to understand the inflammatory mechanisms of the relationships between neighborhood vulnerability and mental health, neurocognitive impairment and sleep quality in adult survivors of childhood cancer.

My research approach ensures we continue to expand and examine the diverse factors that can influence health, particularly for survivors of childhood cancer.