The NCATS Life Course Research Visual Toolkit, Charting the Life Course: An Interdisciplinary Blueprint, serves to increase knowledge about innovative life course research methods by providing content that is widely available and accessible to researchers across multiple disciplines through both longer and shorter visual formats presented by national and international experts in life course research.
In addition to the six recorded webinars, there are shorter 5 – 15 minute videos to allow for personalizing an educational approach for anyone interested in learning more about life course research methods and applications. The video archive, available in the CLIC Education Clearinghouse and Life Course Visual Toolkit YouTube Channel, includes both broad overviews of the subject matter and ‘How To’ videos that describe best practices for applying data science and complex methodological techniques to life course research questions.
Rosalind J. Wright, MD MPH Director and PI of Conduits (the Mount Sinai Health System CTSA) has three 8-10 minutes videos in the Research Visual Toolkit that can be accessed in the links below, best to be viewed in consecutive order.
- Journey into Complexity Science: The Promise of the Exposome
Dr. Wright talks about how she got interested in life course research through her early work in genetics in asthma. She talks her experience developing longitudinal cohorts constructed to understand asthma and the lessons she learned. She describes new advances in life course research and how they can be used for a more comprehensive understanding of asthma.
- The Importance of Measuring Social and Chemical Stressors
Dr. Wright discusses the interaction between social and chemical stressors across multiple levels and the importance of considering both in life course research. She describes the principles of life course research that should be considered when studying environmental exposures across the life course. She also notes that resiliency is also an important consideration in life course research.
- The Promise of the Exposome: Scaling it Up
Dr. Wright discusses new tools and likens it to where genomic science was a decade ago. She outlines the next steps for integrating exposomics into translational research. She talks about taking advantage of new, exciting technologies as well as how to leverage existing resources.
This toolkit was made possible through the generous contributions of the planning committee and speakers’ time, with support from the Vanderbilt (VUMC 5UL1TR002243-04) and Utah (ULTTR002538) CTSAs and partial funding from the Life Course Research Intervention Research Network (Health Resources and Services Administration, UA6MC32492). Drs. Heidi Hanson and Shari Barkin led the working group to develop and create the toolkit.