Skip to main content
Connecticut College
  • About Connecticut College
  • Academics
  • Admission & Financial Aid
  • Alumni & Life After Conn
  • Athletics
  • Campus & Community
  • Career Preparation
  • Human Resources
  • Student Experience
  • Calendar
  • News
  • Directory
  • Employment
  • Libraries & Technology
  • CC Magazine
  • Site Map
Make a gift CamelWeb Today at Conn

Specialized Resources

  • Accessibility Services
  • Admission Deadlines
  • Admitted Students
  • Admitted Student Statistics
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookshop
  • Campus Map
  • Clubs and Activities
  • Counseling Services
  • Directions to Campus
  • Essays That Worked
  • Financial Aid Services
  • Health Services
  • International Students
  • Interviewing
  • Libraries
  • Orientation
  • Request Information
  • Residential Life
  • Majors and Minors
  • Student Blog
  • Sustainability
  • Technology Services
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Transfer Students
  • Tuition and Fees
  • Transportation
  • Visit Campus
  • Academic Advising
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academic Resource Center
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Camel Card Office
  • Campus Safety
  • Campus Map
  • Career Services
  • Class Schedules
  • Clubs and Student Engagement
  • Connections
  • Counseling Services
  • Course Catalog
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Environmental Health & Safety
  • Global Focus
  • Health Services
  • Libraries
  • Residential Life
  • Sustainability
  • Technology Services
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Transportation
  • Academic Advising
  • Academic Calendar
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Banner Self-Service
  • Camel Card Office
  • Campus Map
  • Campus Safety
  • Center for Teaching & Learning
  • Course Catalog
  • Course Information and Schedules
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Employee Benefits
  • Environmental Health & Safety
  • Facilities Management
  • Human Resources
  • Instructional Technology
  • Libraries
  • Moodle
  • Sustainability
  • Technology Services
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Wellness Program
  • Academic Calendar
  • Academic Resource Center
  • Alcohol and Drug Education
  • Arboretum
  • Arts & Culture
  • Athletics Calendar
  • Bookshop
  • Camel Card Office
  • Campus Map
  • Campus Safety
  • Career Services
  • CARE Team
  • Commencement
  • Counseling Services
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Fall Weekend
  • Applying for Financial Aid
  • First-Year Student FAQ
  • Global Focus
  • Health Services
  • Libraries
  • Orientation
  • Parent enewsletter
  • Parents Council
  • Residential Life
  • Resources for Parents and Families
  • Student Employment
  • Tuition and Fees
  • Visiting New London

 

  • Area Attractions & Events
  • Area Hotels
  • Arboretum
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookshop
  • Campus Map
  • Campus Safety
  • The Children's Program
  • Community Learning/Volunteering
  • Directions
  • Events and Catering
  • Equity and Inclusion
  • Reserving Harkness Chapel
  • Local Restaurants and Dining
  • OnStage Performances
  • Transportation
  • Alumni Directory
  • Alumni Events
  • Alumni Association
  • Arts and Culture
  • Bookshop
  • Campus Map
  • Fall Weekend
  • Global Focus
  • Libraries
  • Library Databases
  • Notable Alumni
  • Email Help
  • Replacement Diploma
  • Reunion
  • Sponsor an Internship
  • Support the College
  • Title IX: Sexual Respect
  • Transcripts
  • Update Your Info
  • Volunteer
  • Post a job or internship
  • Explore employment programs
  • Learn about funded internships
  • Home 
  • Home 
  • News 
  • News Archive 
  • 2020 
  • Parker Athill Grant

Professor wins seed grant to research the biological impact of traumatic childhood experiences

Assistant Professor of Biology E. Carla Parker-Athill has won a $10,000 Seed Grant from the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network of the Social Science Research Council and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The grant will allow Parker-Athill to conduct research on the biological impact of traumatic childhood experiences. 

Parker-Athill will work with undergraduate student researchers from Conn to study how cortisol, a stress hormone expressed in excess during periods of trauma, affects the developing brain. They will use Zebrafish embryos—vertebrate animals with nervous systems that have analogous structure and functionality to that of humans—to examine the ways in which prolonged cortisol exposure, during periods in which the brain is undergoing significant developmental changes, disrupts the way the brain develops and functions.

Previous studies have found relationships between childhood trauma—abuse, neglect and instability in the household—and negative outcomes in adulthood, including poor physical and mental health, substance abuse, and high-risk behaviors. Parker-Athill is interested in the biological mechanisms at the root of these outcomes. 

This research has “the potential to give us insight into how early experiences of trauma can impact complex brain functions such as learning, memory, decision-making and behavior,” Parker-Athill said. 

“This grant definitely provides a great opportunity, especially so early in my career. One of the biggest benefits is the opportunity to mentor students. Beyond that, with this grant, I can carry out experiments and collect preliminary data that can serve as the foundation for other grants, and I am grateful to the Alfred P Sloan Foundation and the Sloan Scholars Mentoring Network for the opportunity.”



Get to the 'why.' Learn more



August 12, 2020

Related News & Media

Recent News

Professor Jefferson Singer edits special issue of Journal of Personality exploring the psychobiographies of change agents

Professor Jefferson Singer edits special issue of Journal of Personality exploring the psychobiographies of change agents

Faculty News

February in Pictures

February in Pictures

Campus News

Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320
1 (860) 447-1911
admission@conncoll.edu
Web Privacy Policy
Web Accessibility Notice

Website Navigation

  • About Connecticut College
  • Academics
  • Admission & Financial Aid
  • Alumni & Life After Conn
  • Athletics
  • Campus & Community
  • Career Preparation
  • Human Resources
  • Student Experience
Make a gift CamelWeb Today at Conn
  • Calendar
  • News
  • Directory
  • Employment
  • Libraries & Technology
  • CC Magazine
  • Site Map
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn