Pubertal development, stress system functioning, and addiction vulnerability

PROJECT SUMMARY The proposed career development application aims to provide research training for Dr. Elizabeth Kwon, supporting her transition to independence as a transdisciplinary scientist. Dr. Kwon's long-term career goal is to investigate the etiological risk and protective mechanisms of addiction vulnerability, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the development of next-generation interventions. Her focus is on understanding the interplay among psychological, physiological, and social factors driving addiction vulnerability during critical developmental periods. Particularly, she is interested in stress system functioning as accumulating research suggests dysregulation in neurobehavioral systems associated with the stress response operates as a key mechanism conferring risk for addiction. This work has the potential to enhance preventive interventions by elucidating physiological pathways connecting youth development and addiction. Dr. Kwon's proposed training is structured to develop competencies in (a) multimodal assessment of stress system functioning, (b) assessment of pubertal development and its interpretation across contexts and settings, and (c) professional development. Alongside formal and informal educational experiences, Dr. Kwon will investigate the links among pubertal development, stress dysregulation, and addiction vulnerability. In this research, Dr. Kwon aims to explore the psychosocial determinants of the stress system functioning and its association with addiction vulnerability. Her near-term goal (within 5 years) is to submit a competitive R01 application to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for a prospective study investigating the transactions among childhood adversity, pubertal maturation, trajectories of changes in stress system functioning, psychosocial environments, and adolescents’ addiction vulnerability. The proposed proof-of-principal study is intended to provide a focal point for training and preliminary data to support a competitive R01 application.