Ryan L. Brown, Ph.D.

Research Focus

My program of research investigates the role of love and loss in shaping mental and physical health across the lifespan. My work focuses on stress-response processes through vulnerable periods of social loss (e.g., following the death of a spouse, divorce, or break-ups) to inform our understanding of social contributions to human aging. I use a diverse set of methodologies to explore these questions, including surveys, ecological momentary assessment, experimental acute stress paradigms, psychophysiology, and biological markers of immune health and aging.

Areas of Expertise

• Psychoneuroimmunology
• Stress and health
• Close relationships
• Grief/loss
• Lifespan development

Selected Publications

Brown., R.L., Alegria, K.E.,Hamlat, E., Tomiyama, A.J., Laraia, B., Crimmins, E.M., Moffitt, T.E., & Epel, E.S. (2024). Psychosocial disadvantage during childhood and midlife health. JAMA Network Open, 7(7), e2421841. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821617?resultClick=1

Brown, R.L., Epel, E.E., Lin, J., Dubal, D., & Prather, A.A. (2023). Associations between klotho and telomere biology in high stress caregivers. Aging, 15, 7381-7396.https://www.aging-us.com/article/204961

Shahane, A., Brown, R.L., Denny, B., & Fagundes, C.P. (2022). Lexical markers of cognitive reappraisal underlying the association between bereavement and cardiovascular disease. Health Psychology, 42(1), 24-32.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36074597/

Brown, R.L., LeRoy, A.S., Chen, M.A., Suchting, R., Jaremka, L.M., Liu, J., Heijnen, C.J., & Fagundes, C. P. (2022). Grief symptoms promote inflammation during acute stress among bereaved spouses. Psychological Science, 33(6), 859-873.https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/09567976211059502?journalCode=pssa

Chen, M. A., Brown, R. L., Chen, J. Y., de Dios, M. A., Green, C. E., Heijnen, C. J., & Fagundes, C.P. (2022). Childhood maltreatment, subjective socioeconomic status, and health disparities in bereavement. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 135, 105595.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34837775/

Brown, R.L., Fagundes, C. P., Thayer, J.F., & Christian, L.M. (2021). Longitudinal Changes in HRV across Pregnancy and Postpartum: Effect of Negative Partner Relationship Qualities. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 129, 105216. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453021000901

Wu, E.L., Brown, R.L., Chirinos, D.A., Chen, M.A., de Dios, M., Taylor, D.M., Butner, J.E., Heijnen, C.J., Fagundes, C.P. (2021). Socioeconomic Disparities in Health: Changes in Sleep Quality and Inflammation During Bereavement. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 7, 100056. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497621000308

Brown, R. L., Shahane, A.D., Chen, M. A., & Fagundes, C.P. (2020). Cognitive reappraisal and nasal cytokine production following experimental rhinovirus infection. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity – Health, 1, 100012. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666354619300122

Lopez, R. B., Brown, R. L., Wu, E. L.,* Murdock, K. W., Denny, B. T., Heijnen, C., & Fagundes, C. P. (2019). Emotion regulation and immune functioning during grief: testing the role of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal in inflammation among recently bereaved spouses. Psychosomatic Medicine, 82(1), 2-9.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31634318/

Garcini, L. M., Brown, R. L., Chen, M. A., Saucedo, L., Fite, A., Forger, L., Pearly, Y., Ziauddin, K., & Fagundes, C. P. (2019). Bereavement among widowed Latinos in the United States: A systematic review of methodology and findings. Death Studies, 41(5), 342-353.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07481187.2019.1648328

Fagundes, C. P., Brown, R. L., Chen, M. A., Murdock, K. W., Saucedo, L., LeRoy, A., … Heijnen, C. (2019). Grief, depressive symptoms, and inflammation in the spousally bereaved. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 100, 190–197.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6889080/