What are the links between childhood circumstances and allostatic load? How does shift working impact on associations with DNA methylation and sleep patterns? Can machine learning help us understand the links between social, health and biomarker data when looking at predictors for future health? How does neighbourhood air pollution and green space affect inflammatory markers?
The Understanding Society Conference: Combining Biological and Social Data will be sharing novel findings into the links between our social environment and our biology. Drawing together researchers from many different specialisms, the conference is aimed at researchers from a wide range of disciplines, including health economists, social epidemiologists, medical sociologists, health geographers and survey methodologists, as well as researchers who want to learn more about the use of biomarkers in social research.
As well as hearing about the wide variety of research that has used Understanding Society biomarker, genetics and epigenetics data, the conference will also include time for discussion. The biomarker team from Understanding Society will also be available to answer any additional questions about the data.
Provisional Programme:
| 9.30 – 10.00 |
Registration and coffee |
| 10.00 – 10.10 | Welcome – Michaela Benzeval, Director, Understanding Society |
| Session one: General SEP and Biomarker papers – Chair Michaela Benzeval | |
| 10.10 – 10.30 |
Social class differences in objective health measures (biomarkers): evidence from Understanding Society Presenter: David Blane, Imperial College London |
| 10.30 – 10.50 |
The association between self-rated health and biomarker levels is modified by age, gender and household income Presenter: Pia Chapparo, Tulane University |
| 10.50 – 11.10 |
Utlising machine learning approaches for comparing the contribution of different types of data for predicting an individual’s r Presenter: Mark Green, University of Liverpool |
| 11.10 – 11.30 |
Inflamatory biomarkers of stress mediate the effect of socioeconomic position on health: a latent growth curve model fo the UK Presenter: Eleanora Iob, University College London |
| 11.30 – 11.45 | Discussion |
| Session two: Role of transport and environment – Chair Michaela Benzeval | |
| 114.45 – 12.05 |
Neighbourhood-level air pollution and greenspace and inflammation in adults Presenter: Theodora Kokosi, UCL Institute of Education |
| 12.05 – 12.25 |
Active travel and development diabetes: particularly beneficial for those at high risk? Presenter: Anthony Laverty, Imperial College London |
| 12.25 – 12.35 | Discussion |
| 12.35 – 13.20 | Lunch |
| Session three: Allostatic load – Chair Meena Kumari | |
| 13.20 – 13.40 |
Allostatic Load: what is it and does its composition vary by age? An examination of the Understanding Society biomarkers data Presenter: Cara Booker, University of Essex |
| 13.40 – 14.00 |
Childhood circumstances, life course trajectories and allostatic load in later midlife Presenter: Thijs van der Broek, London School of Economics |
| 14.00 – 14.20 |
Understanding the association between asthma and allostatic load Presenter: Luke Barry, Queen’s University Belfast |
| 14.20 – 14.40 | Discussion |
| Session four: Methylation – Chair Meena Kumari | |
| 14.40 – 15.00 |
Shift work, DNA methylation and circadian disruption: findings from Understanding Society Presenter: Rebecca Richmond, University of Bristol |
| 15.00 – 15.20 |
Utilising an epigenetic biomarker of smoking in Understanding Society Presenter: Alexandria Andrayas, University of Essex |
| 15.20 – 15.30 | Discussion |
| 15.30 – 16.00 | Break |
| Session five: Methods – Chair Paul Clarke | |
| 16.00 – 16.20 |
Testosterone, risk, and socieconomic position of British men: exploring causal directionality Presenter: Amanda Hughes, University of Bristol |
| 16.20 – 16.40 |
Investigating interview and nurse effects on nonresponse to biological data collection in Understanding Society Presenter: Fiona Pashazadeh, University of Manchester |
| 16.40 – 17.00 |
Discussion |
| 17.00 | End |
