Lauren Elizabeth Gyllenhammer
Biography
Lauren Elizabeth Gyllenhammer, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine. She is also Core Faculty at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research and a Faculty Member of the Master of Science in Biomedical and Translational Science program. Gyllenhammer's research focuses on the developmental origins of health and disease, examining how maternal stress and metabolic conditions during pregnancy influence offspring mitochondrial function, body composition, and obesity risk across the lifespan. She received her Ph.D. in Integrative Biology of Disease from the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, where her dissertation examined adipose tissue quality and immune cell profiles in relation to type 2 diabetes risk in minority populations.
Gyllenhammer is a recipient of the National Institute of Health K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, which supports her research on the synergistic effects of maternal insulin resistance and cortisol during pregnancy on fetal programming of child mitochondrial function and obesity risk. She serves as principal investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects and as co-investigator on studies examining stress effects on human stem cells and the biological embedding of social disadvantage. Her work employs innovative approaches including ex-vivo culture of umbilical mesenchymal stem cells, mitochondrial bioenergetic assays, and longitudinal assessment of infant and child body composition using advanced imaging techniques.
Gyllenhammer has published extensively on prenatal determinants of child health outcomes, maternal inflammation and immune regulation during pregnancy, and racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive health. Her research has appeared in journals including Psychoneuroendocrinology, Obesity, and Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. She was awarded the International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology Early Career Scholar Award in 2025 and has received Editor's Choice Awards from both Psychoneuroendocrinology and Obesity Research. At UC Irvine, she mentors undergraduate and graduate students through her laboratory and teaches courses on developmental origins of health and disease, scientific literacy, and biomedical research methods.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Integrative Biology of Disease, University of Southern California (USC), Keck School of Medicine, 2015
- B.S. in Psychobiology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2007
Distinctions
- International Society for Psychoneuroendocrinology (ISPNE) Early Career Scholar Award, 2025
- Obesity Research Editor's Choice Publication, 2023
- Psychoneuroendocrinology Editor's Choice Publication, 2022
- Telomere Research Network Analysis Award, 2022
- USC Provost Top-Off Doctoral Fellowship Award, 2009-2011
Areas of Expertise
- Developmental Origins of Health
- Maternal Allostatic Load
- Infant Mitochondrial Bioenergetics
- Prenatal Stress Programming
- Umbilical Mesenchymal Stem Cells
- Childhood Adiposity Trajectories
- Perinatal Immune Responsivity
Recent Publications
- Gyllenhammer LE, Boyle KE, “New Frontiers: Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells Uncover Developmental Roots and Biological Underpinnings of Obesity Susceptibility” (opens in new tab), Current Obesity Reports, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 10, 2025.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Rasmussen JM, Lindsay K, Buss C, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, “Maternal allostatic load in pregnancy is prospectively associated with child adiposity and metabolic function across infancy and early childhood” (opens in new tab), Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 177, pp. 107450, 2025.
- Lindsay KL, Yuqing G, Gyllenhammer LE, “Mindfulness and Cardiometabolic Health During Pregnancy: An Integrative Review” (opens in new tab), Mindfulness, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 995-1013, 2024.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Zaegel V, Duensing AM, Lixandrao M, Dabelea D, Bergman BC, Boyle KE, “Lipidomics of infant mesenchymal stem cells associate with the maternal milieu and child adiposity” (opens in new tab), JCI Insight, vol. 9, no. 19, pp. e180016, 2024.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Duensing AM, Keleher MR, Kechris K, Dabelea D, Boyle KE, “Fat content in infant mesenchymal stem cells prospectively associates with childhood adiposity and fasting glucose” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 37-42, 2023.
- Waldrop SW, Niemiec S, Wood C, Gyllenhammer LE, Jansson T, Friedman JE, Tryggestad JB, Borengasser SJ, Davidson EJ, Yang IV, Kechris K, Dabelea D, Boyle KE, “Cord blood DNA methylation of immune and lipid metabolism genes is associated with maternal triglycerides and child adiposity” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 32, pp. 187-199, 2023.
- Lindsay KL, Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, “Rate of gestational weight gain and glucose-insulin metabolism among Hispanic pregnant women with overweight and obesity” (opens in new tab), Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 107, no. 2, pp. e734-e744, 2022.
- Rasmussen JM, Thompson PM, Gyllenhammer LE, Lindsay KL, O'Connor TG, Koletzko B, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, Buss C, “Maternal free fatty acid concentration during pregnancy is associated with newborn hypothalamic microstructure in humans” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 1462-1471, 2022.
- Lindsay KL, Mashayekh JT, Rodriguez N, Gyllenhammer LE, “Relationship between psychological stress and ghrelin concentrations in pregnant women with overweight or obesity” (opens in new tab), Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 146, pp. 105937, 2022.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Picard M, McGill MA, Boyle KE, Vawter MP, Rasmussen JM, Buss C, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, “Prospective association between maternal allostatic load during pregnancy and child mitochondrial content and bioenergetic capacity” (opens in new tab), Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 144, pp. 105868, 2022.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Buss C, Simhan HN, Grobman WA, Adam EK, Keenan-Devlin L, Borders AE, Wadhwa PD, “Prospective association of maternal pro-inflammatory responsivity and regulation in pregnancy with length of gestation” (opens in new tab), American Journal of Reproductive Immunology, vol. 85, pp. e13366, 2021.
- Rasmussen JM, Graham AM, Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Chowd DS, O'Connor TG, Fair DA, Wadhwa PD, Buss B, “Pars Triangularis Volume Mediates the Association Between Maternal Interleukin-6 Concentration During Pregnancy and Offspring Fluid Reasoning Performance”, Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging, pp. S2451-9022(21)00084-7, 2021.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Buss C, Borders A, Wadhwa PD, “Racial differences in maternal pro-inflammatory immune responsivity and regulation across pregnancy” (opens in new tab), Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol. 131, pp. 105333, 2021.
- Gustafsson HC, Nolvi S, Sullivan EL, Rasmussen JM, Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, O'Connor TG, Karlsson L, Karlsson H, Korja R, Buss C, Graham AM, Nigg JT, “Early development of negative and positive affect: Implications for ADHD symptomatology across three birth cohorts” (opens in new tab), Development and Psychopathology, vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 1837-1848, 2021.
- Gustafsson H.C., Nolvi S., Sullivan E.L., Rasmussen J.M., Gyllenhammer L.E., Entringer S., Wadhwa P.D., O'Connor T.G., Karlsson L., Karlsson H., Korja R., Buss C., Graham A.M., Nigg J.T., “Erratum: Early development of negative and positive affect: Implications for ADHD symptomatology across three birth cohorts (Development and Psychopathology (2021) DOI: 10.1017/S0954579421001012)” (opens in new tab), Development and Psychopathology, vol. 33, pp. 1882, 2021.
- Alderete TL, Sattler FR, Richey JM, Allayee H, Mittelman SD, Sheng X, Tucci J, Gyllenhammer LE, Grant EG, Goran MI, “Salsalate treatment improves glycemia without altering adipose tissue in nondiabetic obese Hispanics” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 543-51, 2015.
- House BT, Cook LT, Gyllenhammer LE, Schraw JM, Goran MI, Spruijt-Metz D, Weigensberg MJ, Davis JN, “Meal skipping linked to increased visceral adipose tissue and triglycerides in overweight minority youth” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 22, no. 5, pp. E77-84, 2014.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Alderete TL, Mahurka S, Allayee H, Goran MI, “Adipose tissue 11βHSD1 gene expression, βcell function and ectopic fat in obese African Americans versus Hispanics” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 14-8, 2014.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Weigensberg MJ, Spruijt-Metz D, Allayee H, Goran MI, Davis JN, “Modifying influence of dietary sugar in the relationship between cortisol and visceral adipose tissue in minority youth” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 474-81, 2014.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Vanni AA, Meija M, Kalan M, Bernstein L, Davis JN, “Objective habitual physical activity and estradiol levels in obese Latina adolescents” (opens in new tab), Journal of Physical Activity and Health, vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 727-33, 2013.
Most Cited Publications
- Davis JN, Ventura E, Cook L, Gyllenhammer LE, Gatto NM, “LA Sprouts: a gardening, nutrition and cooking intervention for latino youth Improves diet and reduces obesity” (opens in new tab), Journal of the American Dietetic Association, vol. 111, no. 8, pp. 1224-30, 2011.
- Davis J.N., Gyllenhammer L.E., Vanni A.A., Meija M., Tung A., Schroeder E.T., Spruijt-Metz D., Goran M.I., “Startup circuit training program reduces metabolic risk in latino adolescents” (opens in new tab), Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, vol. 43, pp. 2195-2203, 2011.
- Gatto N, Cook L, Ventura E, Gyllenhammer LE, Davis JN, “LA Sprouts: A garden-based nutrition intervention pilot program influences motivation and preferences for fruits and vegetables in latino youth” (opens in new tab), Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 112, no. 6, pp. 913-20, 2012.
- Low CA, Stanton AL, Bower JE, Gyllenhammer LE, “A randomized controlled trial of emotionally expressive writing for women with metastatic breast cancer” (opens in new tab), Health Psychology, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 460-6, 2010.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Buss C, Wadhwa PD, “The Developmental Programming of Mitochondrial Biology Hypothesis: A Conceptual Framework and Review” (opens in new tab), Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences, vol. 287, no. 1926, pp. 20192713, 2020.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Alderete TL, Toledo-Corral CM, Weigensberg M, Goran MI, “Saturation of subcutaneous adipose tissue expansion and accumulation of ectopic fat associated with metabolic dysfunction during late and post-pubertal growth” (opens in new tab), International Journal of Obesity, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 601-6, 2016.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Rasmussen JM, Bertele N, Halbing A, Entringer S, Wadhwa PD, Buss C, “Maternal inflammation during pregnancy and offspring brain development: The role of mitochondria” (opens in new tab), Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, vol. 7, pp. S2451-9022(21)00316-5, 2021.
- Gyllenhammer LE, Lam J, Alderete TL, Akbari O, Allayee H, Katkhouda N, Alderete TA, Goran MI, “Lower Omental T-reg Cell Count is Associated with Higher Fasting Glucose and Lower Beta-cell Function in Adults with Obesity” (opens in new tab), Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 1274-82, 2016.
- Davis JN, Gunderson EP, Gyllenhammer LE, Goran MI, “Impact of gestational diabetes mellitus on pubertal changes in adiposity and metabolic profiles in Latino offspring” (opens in new tab), The Journal of Pediatrics, vol. 162, no. 4, pp. 741-5, 2013.
- Rasmussen JM, Graham AM, Gyllenhammer LE, Entringer S, Chow DS, O'Connor TG, Fair DA, Wadhwa PD, Buss C, “Neuroanatomical Correlates Underlying the Association Between Maternal Interleukin 6 Concentration During Pregnancy and Offspring Fluid Reasoning Performance in Early Childhood” (opens in new tab), Biological Psychiatry Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 24-33, 2022.
Contact Information
Email: lgyllenh@uci.edu
Phone: (714) 456-8626
Address: The City Tower. 333 City Blvd W. Suite 1235, Orange, CA 92868
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Last updated on 4/28/2026.