Elizabeth S. Clausing, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology. She is a genetic and biological anthropologist specializing in stress and epigenetics. Dr. Clausing received her undergraduate degree in Honors Integrative Biology and Anthropology at the University of Illinois, an MA in Anthropology from University of California San Diego, and her PhD in Biological Anthropology (specializing in Genetic and Epigenetic Anthropology) from the University of California San Diego. Previously, she held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Emory University.
Research and Current Projects
Her research focuses on social and genomic epigenetics. She is interested in how subjective measures of stress (psychosocial stress) associates with objective measures of stress (epigenetic aging, DNA methylation, and hair cortisol). She is particularly interested in how stress can impact the body through epigenetic inheritance via DNA methylation in mothers and children. She is especially interested in how early childhood experiences (e.g., low socioeconomic status, childhood adversity) can affect health in adulthood. Her work is interdisciplinary, bridging anthropology, public health, and genetics.
Selected Publications
Non AL, Clausing ES, D’Anna Hernandez KL (2022) Changes in sociocultural stressors, protective factors, and mental health for US Latina mothers in a shifting political climate. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0273548.
Clausing, ES, and Non, AL. 2021. Epigenetics as a mechanism of developmental embodiment of stress, resilience, and cardiometabolic risk across generations of Latinx immigrant families. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 12 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.696827.
Clausing, E. S., Binder, A. M., & Non, A. L. (2021). Epigenetic age associates with psychosocial stress and resilience in children of Latinx immigrants. Epigenomics. doi:10.2217/epi-2019-0343
Non AL, Román JC, Clausing ES, et al. Optimism and Social Support Predict Healthier Adult Behaviors Despite Socially Disadvantaged Childhoods. Int J Behav Med. 2020;27(2):200‐212. doi:10.1007/s12529-020-09849-w
Educational Background
Postdoctoral Fellow in Social and Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 2021 – 2022.
PhD. Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, 2021
MA. Anthropology, University of California, San Diego, 2017
BS/BA. Integrative Biology Honors and Honors Anthropology with Distinction, Chemistry minor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015
Research Interests
Biological Anthropology; Genetics; Social Epigenetics; Social/Racial Disparities in Health; Biomarkers of Stress; Aging; Life Course Epidemiology