Lifecourse Epidemiology and Family Health (LEAF) Lab.

Welcome to the website for LEAF: the Lifecourse Epidemiology and Family Health (LEAF) Lab. We are a working group of faculty, fellows, and students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and community members interested in applying a lifecourse approach to our research.  We investigate how health develops across life spans and generations.  This involves an examination of early life exposures, their long-term effects on health, and how family relationships affect health.

The mission of LEAF is threefold:

1. To conduct research to understand the evolution and persistence of health disparities and inequities across life spans and generations. We draw upon the core concepts of the lifecourse approach, including an understanding of the latent, pathway, and cumulative effects of experiences and exposures, timeline, timing, environment, equity, and linked lives. We strive to understand how biological, socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors operate across an individual’s lifecourse and across generations to impact health and contribute to health and social disparities.

2. To identify and employ the most suitable data sources, study designs, and methodological techniques to studying lifecourse epidemiology and family health. In order to fulfill our goals, we utilize various data sources and methodological techniques, including cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs and individual- and group-level modeling. We seek to develop innovative ways to analyze data and test theoretical models of lifecourse processes.

3. To translate our research findings into clinical, public health, and health policy practice, with a particular focus on when and how to intervene to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities.  Research findings will inform how best to reduce risk and promote health, the optimal timing of such interventions, and encourage a multi-faceted approach to health improvement.