# Early Adversity and Drug Use Vulnerability Among Low Income Rural Children: Testing a Neuro-ecological Model of Resilience

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA · 2024 · $27,322

## Abstract

Project Summary
This diversity supplement provides doctoral training for Ms. Avary Evans within the Building Resilience and
Nurturing Children's Health (BRANCH; R01DA055630) study. BRANCH investigates the influence of rural
environments on neurobehavioral vulnerabilities to drug use. Children in rural areas face higher addiction risk
due to socioeconomic and resource disparities that affect their development. The study collects comprehensive
data on 250 children starting at age 7, using fMRI to assess reward sensitivity, biospecimens to evaluate stress
biology, and various measures of risk and protective processes.
 The supplement supports Ms. Evans, a doctoral student at the University of Georgia, to examine
neuroendocrine processes influencing the development of reward sensitivity. Reward sensitivity, a significant
predictor of drug use vulnerability, undergoes notable changes during pubertal maturation starting with
adrenarche (ages 7-9). This work aims to clarify the influence of adrenarcheal timing on reward sensitivity and
how socioeconomic hardship (SES-H) moderates this relationship. The first aim is to investigate how
adrenarcheal timing, measured via dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels, predicts activation in the reward
network during a task 18 months later. The second aim is to explore how SES-H amplifies the relationship
between early adrenarche and reward sensitivity.
 Ms. Evans will receive training to integrate hormonal data with developmental hypotheses, understand
addiction neuroscience, conduct data analysis, and pursue professional development. This supplement aims to
empower Ms. Evans with the necessary skills to excel in her career as an independent addiction scientist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11085655
- **Project number:** 3R01DA055630-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Assaf Oshri
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $27,322
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2023-04-01 → 2028-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11085655

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11085655, Early Adversity and Drug Use Vulnerability Among Low Income Rural Children: Testing a Neuro-ecological Model of Resilience (3R01DA055630-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11085655. Licensed CC0.

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