Katie Ehrlich

Dr. Ehrlich’s current research includes the Strong African American Families Healthy Adult Project (SHAPE), an ongoing longitudinal study of African American families in rural Georgia. Drawing on more than two decades of data, SHAPE examines how family relationships and experiences of stress across development shape health and well-being over time. The project is especially focused on identifying the social and biological pathways through which early experiences become embedded and influence later health. It also investigates factors that may protect young people from the adverse effects of socioeconomic hardship and other stressors.

She also leads Project NEST, which is currently recruiting parents and children in fifth and eighth grades. The study examines how children’s experiences of stress during important school transitions may contribute to changes in parents’ cardiovascular health and psychological well-being. By following families over time, the project considers how stress may reverberate within families, affecting not only children but also their caregivers. The findings will help clarify how developmental transitions and family relationships jointly shape health across generations.

Learn more about her current work on her Health and Development Laboratory page.