Abbey Alkon, RN, PhD, FAAN
Professor
Family Health Care Nursing
School of Nursing

I have authored several research publications covering a wide range of topics, including early care and education programs/child care, environmental exposure, autonomic nervous system, and healthy habits including physical activity and nutrition. My work has explored the pesticide exposures in child care centers, the effects of child care health consultation on health and safety standards in child care programs, the effects of prenatal mindfulness intervention on infant autonomic and behavioral reactivity, and the developmental consequences of early life stress on children's physiological regulation and behavior.

I have had the privilege of serving as the Principal Investigator for projects sponsored by the NIH, focusing on reducing pesticide exposures to preschool-age children in California child care centers and examining stress, autonomic reactivity, and mental health in low-income, Latino children. Through my research, I aim to contribute to our understanding of how to improve the health and well-being of young children and their families.

• Mixed-method assessment of caregiver feeding practices in early care and education centres during COVID-19.
  Public health nutrition 2022 Farrer Mackie J, Gray H, Himmelgreen D, Marshall J, Alkon A, Kirby R
• Dampened autonomic nervous system responses to stress and substance use in adolescence.
  Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress 2022 Rahal D, Alkon A, Shirtcliff E, Gonzales N, Fuligni A, Eskenazi B, Deardorff J
• "Just sit and eat." Adult and Child Mealtime Responsibilities in Early Care and Education Centers During COVID-19 in Florida.
  Ecology of food and nutrition 2022 Farrer Mackie J, Marshall J, Gray HL, Himmelgreen D, Alkon A, Kirby RS
• "I Wear a Mask. I Wear It All the Time. The Kids Don't Wear Masks": Early Childhood Education Mask-Wearing During COVID-19 in Florida.
  Health promotion practice 2022 Farrer Mackie J, Gray HL, Marshall J, Himmelgreen D, Alkon A, Kirby RS
• The Effects of a Prenatal Mindfulness Intervention on Infant Autonomic and Behavioral Reactivity and Regulation.
  Psychosomatic medicine 2022 Noroña-Zhou AN, Coccia M, Epel E, Vieten C, Adler NE, Laraia B, Jones-Mason K, Alkon A, Bush NR
• Mealtime best practices and infection control in early care and education centres during COVID-19.
  Child: care, health and development 2022 Farrer Mackie J, Marshall J, Alkon A, Gray H, Himmelgreen D, Kirby RS
• The prism of reactivity: Concordance between biobehavioral domains of infant stress reactivity.
  Infant behavior & development 2022 Rudd KL, Caron Z, Jones-Mason K, Coccia M, Conradt E, Alkon A, Bush NR
• Developmental Consequences of Early Life Stress on Risk for Psychopathology: Longitudinal Associations with Children's Multisystem Physiological Regulation and Executive Functioning.
  Development and psychopathology 2021 Rudd KL, Roubinov DS, Jones-Mason K, Alkon A, Bush NR
• Adverse birth outcomes associated with household air pollution from unclean cooking fuels in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review.
  Environmental research 2021 Younger A, Alkon A, Harknett K, Jean Louis R, Thompson LM
• Preschool-Age Children's Pesticide Exposures in Child Care Centers and at Home in Northern California.
  Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners 2021 Alkon A, Gunier RB, Hazard K, Castorina R, Hoffman PD, Scott RP, Anderson KA, Bradman A
• Development of an online curriculum for California early care and education providers on healthy beverages.
  BMC public health 2021 Hazard K, Lee D, Ritchie L, Rose R, Rios LKD, Plank K, Alkon A
• Self-Paced Online Training on Healthy Beverage Policy for Child Care Providers.
  Journal of nutrition education and behavior 2021 Lee DL, Alkon A, Plank K, Neelon M, Díaz Rios LK, Hecht CE, Thompson HR, Ritchie LD
• Identifying profiles of multisystem physiological activity across early childhood: Examining developmental shifts and associations with stress and internalizing problems.
  Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021 Rudd KL, Bush NR, Alkon A, Roubinov DS
• Nutrition Standards For Infants and Young Children can be Implemented by Family Child Care Home Providers.
  Global pediatric health 2021 Ritchie LD, Keeton V, Lee DL, Gurzo K, Homel Vitale E, Au LE, Alkon A
• Latent profiles of children's autonomic nervous system reactivity early in life predict later externalizing problems.
  Developmental psychobiology 2020 Roubinov D, Tein JY, Kogut K, Gunier R, Eskenazi B, Alkon A
• Infant weight-for-length gain associated with autonomic nervous system reactivity.
  Pediatric research 2020 Rudd KL, Alkon A, Abrams B, Bush NR
• Distribution, Stability, and Continuity of Autonomic Nervous System Responsivity at 18- and 36-Months of Age.
  Biological research for nursing 2020 Stephens M, Bush N, Weiss S, Alkon A
• Child Care in the Time of Coronavirus Disease-19: A Period of Challenge and Opportunity.
  The Journal of pediatrics 2020 Hashikawa AN, Sells JM, DeJonge PM, Alkon A, Martin ET, Shope TR
• Culture and stress biology in immigrant youth from the prenatal period to adolescence: A systematic review.
  Developmental psychobiology 2020 Haft SL, Zhou Q, Stephens M, Alkon A
• National Health and Safety Standards: Family Child Care Homes Compared With Child Care Centers.
  Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners 2020 Alkon A, Rose R, Hazard K, Moser D
• Shared Medical Appointments: An Academic-Community Partnership to Improve Care Among Adults With Type 2 Diabetes in California Central Valley Region.
  The Diabetes educator 2020 Noya C, Alkon A, Castillo E, Kuo AC, Gatewood E
• Pediatric Dental Education Improves Interprofessional Healthcare Students' Clinical Competence in Children's Oral Health Assessment.
  Dentistry journal 2019 Niranjan R, Kim J, Lin B, Lewis S, Patel P, Le T, Alkon A, Chen JL
• Maternal separation and contact to a stranger more than reunion affect the autonomic nervous system in the mother-child dyad: ANS measurements during Strange Situation Procedure in mother-child dyad.
  International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology 2019 Roder E, Koehler-Dauner F, Krause S, Prinz J, Rottler E, Alkon A, Kolassa IT, Gündel H, Fegert JM, Ziegenhain U, Waller C
• Effects of a multipronged beverage intervention on young children's beverage intake and weight: a cluster-randomized pilot study.
  Public health nutrition 2019 Grummon AH, Cabana MD, Hecht AA, Alkon A, McCulloch CE, Brindis CD, Patel AI
• Shared Medical Appointments: An Innovative Model to Reduce Health Disparities Among Latinxs With Type-2 Diabetes.
  Western journal of nursing research 2019 Noya CE, Chesla C, Waters C, Alkon A
• Autonomic nervous system functioning assessed during the Still-Face Paradigm: A meta-analysis and systematic review of methods, approach and findings.
  Developmental review : DR 2018 Jones-Mason K, Alkon A, Coccia M, Bush NR
• Putting patients at the center of kidney care transitions: PREPARE NOW, a cluster randomized controlled trial.
  Contemporary clinical trials 2018 Green JA, Ephraim PL, Hill-Briggs FF, Browne T, Strigo TS, Hauer CL, Stametz RA, Darer JD, Patel UD, Lang-Lindsey K, Bankes BL, Bolden SA, Danielson P, Ruff S, Schmidt L, Swoboda A, Woods P, Vinson B,…
• Development of Quantitative Research Skills Competencies to Improve Doctor of Philosophy Nursing Student Training.
  The Journal of nursing education 2018 Thompson LM, Zablotska LB, Chen JL, Jong S, Alkon A, Lee SJ, Vlahov D
• The effect of early child care attendance on childhood asthma and wheezing: A meta-analysis.
  The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma 2018 Swartz A, Collier T, Young CA, Cruz E, Bekmezian A, Coffman J, Celedon J, Alkon A, Cabana MD
• Worry About Deportation and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Adult Women: The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Study.
  Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine 2018 Torres JM, Deardorff J, Gunier RB, Harley KG, Alkon A, Kogut K, Eskenazi B
• An exploratory qualitative study of life trajectories from preschool-age to young adulthood: Identifying early biologic sensitivity, facing challenges and moving forward.
  Advances in pediatric research 2018 Alkon A, Boyce WT, Shulman A, Rehm RS
• Effects of pre- and postnatal maternal stress on infant temperament and autonomic nervous system reactivity and regulation in a diverse, low-income population-CORRIGENDUM.
  Development and psychopathology 2017 Bush NR, Jones-Mason K, Coccia M, Caron Z, Alkon A, Thomas M, Coleman-Phox K, Wadhwa PD, Laraia BA, Adler NE, Epel ES
• Effects of pre- and postnatal maternal stress on infant temperament and autonomic nervous system reactivity and regulation in a diverse, low-income population.
  Development and psychopathology 2017 Bush NR, Jones-Mason K, Coccia M, Caron Z, Alkon A, Thomas M, Coleman-Phox K, Wadhwa PD, Laraia BA, Adler NE, Epel ES
• An Integrated Pest Management Intervention Improves Knowledge, Pest Control, and Practices in Family Child Care Homes.
  International journal of environmental research and public health 2017 Stephens M, Hazard K, Moser D, Cox D, Rose R, Alkon A
• Prospective relations between intrusive parenting and child behavior problems: Differential moderation by parasympathetic nervous system regulation and child sex.
  Physiology & behavior 2017 Rudd KL, Alkon A, Yates TM
• Interprofessional Oral Health Education Improves Knowledge, Confidence, and Practice for Pediatric Healthcare Providers.
  Frontiers in public health 2017 Cooper D, Kim J, Duderstadt K, Stewart R, Lin B, Alkon A
• A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents.
  Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE 2017 Johnson MM, Deardorff J, Parra K, Alkon A, Eskenazi B, Shirtcliff E
• Children's Autonomic Nervous System Reactivity Moderates the Relations between Family Adversity and Sleep Problems in Latino 5-Year Olds in the CHAMACOS Study.
  Frontiers in public health 2017 Alkon A, Boyce WT, Neilands TB, Eskenazi B
• The relationship between maternal responsivity, socioeconomic status, and resting autonomic nervous system functioning in Mexican American children.
  International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology 2017 Johnson M, Deardorff J, Davis EL, Martinez W, Eskenazi B, Alkon A
• Integrated Pest Management Intervention in Child Care Centers Improves Knowledge, Pest Control, and Practices.
  Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners 2016 Alkon A, Nouredini S, Swartz A, Sutherland AM, Stephens M, Davidson NA, Rose R
• Measuring Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Activity in Toddlers - Resting and Developmental Challenges.
  Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE 2016 Bush NR, Caron ZK, Blackburn KS, Alkon A
• Supporting SIDS Families: The Public Health Nurse SIDS Home Visit.
  Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.) 2016 Stastny PF, Keens TG, Alkon A
• Health and Safety Checklist for Early Care and Education Programs to Assess Key National Health and Safety Standards.
  Maternal and child health journal 2016 Alkon A, Rose R, Wolff M, Kotch JB, Aronson SS
• The impact of maternal depression and overcrowded housing on associations between autonomic nervous system reactivity and externalizing behavior problems in vulnerable Latino children.
  Psychophysiology 2016 Waters SF, Boyce WT, Eskenazi B, Alkon A
• Latino children's body mass index at 2-3.5 years predicts sympathetic nervous system activity at 5 years.
  Childhood obesity (Print) 2014 Alkon A, Harley KG, Neilands TB, Tambellini K, Lustig RH, Boyce WT, Eskenazi B
• Nutrition and physical activity randomized control trial in child care centers improves knowledge, policies, and children's body mass index.
  BMC public health 2014 Alkon A, Crowley AA, Neelon SE, Hill S, Pan Y, Nguyen V, Rose R, Savage E, Forestieri N, Shipman L, Kotch JB
• Prenatal adversities and Latino children's autonomic nervous system reactivity trajectories from 6 months to 5 years of age.
  PloS one 2014 Alkon A, Boyce WT, Tran L, Harley KG, Neuhaus J, Eskenazi B
• Oral health education for pediatric nurse practitioner students.
  Journal of dental education 2013 Golinveaux J, Gerbert B, Cheng J, Duderstadt K, Alkon A, Mullen S, Lin B, Miller A, Zhan L
• Preterm delivery and low birth weight in singleton pregnancies conceived by women with and without a history of infertility.
  Fertility and sterility 2012 Camarano L, Alkon A, Nachtigall RD, Schembri M, Weiss S, Croughan MS
• Assessing Indiana's Health and Safety in early care and education programs: identifying areas for improvement.
  Maternal and child health journal 2012 Alkon A, Cole PS
• Chapter 12: Poverty, Stress and Autonomic Reactivity in The Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development
  Chapter 12: Poverty, Stress and Autonomic Reactivity in The Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development. 2012 Alkon A, Wolff B, Boyce WT; Maholmes, V. & King, R.B, Book Editors
• Developmental changes in autonomic nervous system resting and reactivity measures in Latino children from 6 to 60 months of age.
  Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP 2011 Alkon A, Boyce WT, Davis NV, Eskenazi B
• Maternal prenatal and child organophosphate pesticide exposures and children's autonomic function.
  Neurotoxicology 2011 Quirós-Alcalá L, Alkon AD, Boyce WT, Lippert S, Davis NV, Bradman A, Barr DB, Eskenazi B
• Autonomic nervous system reactivity: children with and without sickle cell disease.
  Nursing research 2011 Treadwell MJ, Alkon A, Styles L, Boyce WT
• Differentiating challenge reactivity from psychomotor activity in studies of children's psychophysiology: considerations for theory and measurement.
  Journal of experimental child psychology 2011 Bush NR, Alkon A, Obradovic J, Stamperdahl J, Boyce WT
• Stress reactivity as a moderator of family stress, physical and mental health, and functional impairment for children with sickle cell disease.
  Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP 2010 Treadwell MJ, Alkon A, Quirolo KC, Boyce WT
• Health and safety needs in early care and education programs: what do directors, child health records, and national standards tell us?
  Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.) 2010 Alkon A, To K, Mackie JF, Wolff M, Bernzweig J
• Child care health consultation improves health and safety policies and practices.
  Academic pediatrics 2009 Alkon A, Bernzweig J, To K, Wolff M, Mackie JF
• Assessing health and safety in early care and education programs: development of the CCHP health and safety checklist.
  Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners 2008 Alkon A, To K, Wolff M, Mackie JF, Bernzweig J
• Child care health consultation programs in California: models, services, and facilitators.
  Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.) 2008 Alkon A, Bernzweig J, To K, Mackie JF, Wolff M, Elman J
• Nocturnal sleep and daytime nap behaviors in relation to salivary cortisol levels and temperament in preschool-age children attending child care.
  Biological research for nursing 2008 Ward TM, Gay C, Alkon A, Anders TF, Lee KA
• Sleep and napping patterns in 3-to-5-year old children attending full-day childcare centers.
  Journal of pediatric psychology 2007 Ward TM, Gay C, Anders TF, Alkon A, Lee KA
• Creating a state strategic plan for integrating services for children using multiple qualitative methods.
  Maternal and child health journal 2007 Wayne W, Alkon A, Buchanan E
• Sleep disturbance, fatigue, and stress among Chinese-American parents with ICU hospitalized infants.
  Issues in mental health nursing 2007 Lee SY, Lee KA, Rankin SH, Weiss SJ, Alkon A
• Development of the Child Health Indicator Assessment (CHIA) in a community-based nurse-managed center.
  Pediatric nursing 2007 Sligar K, Savitz M, Schapiro NA, Alkon A, Martin H, Humphreys J
• Children's memory for a mild stressor: the role of sympathetic activation and parasympathetic withdrawal.
  Developmental psychobiology 2006 Quas JA, Carrick N, Alkon A, Goldstein L, Boyce WT
• Early father involvement moderates biobehavioral susceptibility to mental health problems in middle childhood.
  Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2006 Boyce WT, Essex MJ, Alkon A, Goldsmith HH, Kraemer HC, Kupfer DJ
• Child care health consultation programs: barriers and recommendations.
  Maternal and child health journal 2006 Farrer J, Alkon A, To K
• The ontogeny of autonomic measures in 6- and 12-month-old infants.
  Developmental psychobiology 2006 Alkon A, Lippert S, Vujan N, Rodriquez ME, Boyce WT, Eskenazi B
• Acculturation and stress in Chinese-American parents of infants cared for in the intensive care unit.
  Advances in neonatal care : official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses 2005 Lee SY, Lee KA, Rankin SH, Alkon A, Weiss SJ
• Autonomic reactivity and clinical severity in children with sickle cell disease.
  Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society 2005 Pearson SR, Alkon A, Treadwell M, Wolff B, Quirolo K, Boyce WT
• Principles and practices of neurodevelopmental assessment in children: lessons learned from the Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research.
  Environmental health perspectives 2005 Dietrich KN, Eskenazi B, Schantz S, Yolton K, Rauh VA, Johnson CB, Alkon A, Canfield RL, Pessah IN, Berman RF
• Child care health consultants' roles and responsibilities: focus group findings.
  Pediatric nursing 2004 Alkon A, Farrer J, Bernzweig J
• Developmental and contextual influences on autonomic reactivity in young children.
  Developmental psychobiology 2003 Alkon A, Goldstein LH, Smider N, Essex MJ, Kupfer DJ, Boyce WT
• Temperament, tympanum, and temperature: four provisional studies of the biobehavioral correlates of tympanic membrane temperature asymmetries.
  Child development 2002 Boyce WT, Essex MJ, Alkon A, Smider NA, Pickrell T, Kagan J
• Autonomic reactivity and psychopathology in middle childhood.
  The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science 2001 Boyce WT, Quas J, Alkon A, Smider NA, Essex MJ, Kupfer DJ, MacArthur Assessment Battery Working Group of the MacArthur Foundation Research Netwrok on Psychopat
• A violence-prevention and evaluation project with ethnically diverse populations.
  American journal of preventive medicine 2001 Alkon A, Tschann JM, Ruane SH, Wolff M, Hittner A
• Dissociations between psychobiologic reactivity and emotional expression in children.
  Developmental psychobiology 2000 Quas JA, Hong M, Alkon A, Boyce WT
• Injuries in child care centers: gender-environment interactions.
  Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention 2000 Alkon A, Ragland DR, Tschann JM, Genevro JL, Kaiser P, Boyce WT
• The epidemiology of injuries in 4 child care centers.
  Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine 1999 Alkon A, Genevro JL, Tschann JM, Kaiser P, Ragland DR, Boyce WT
• Health assessment in child care centers: parent and staff perceptions.
  Pediatric nursing 1999 Alkon A, Boyce JC
• Resilience and vulnerability among preschool children: family functioning, temperament, and behavior problems.
  Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1996 Tschann JM, Kaiser P, Chesney MA, Alkon A, Boyce WT
• Dimensions of psychobiologic reactivity: Cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors in preschool children.
  Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine 1995 Boyce WT, Alkon A, Tschann JM, Chesney MA, Alpert BS
• Psychobiologic reactivity to stress and childhood respiratory illnesses: results of two prospective studies.
  Psychosomatic medicine 1995 Boyce WT, Chesney M, Alkon A, Tschann JM, Adams S, Chesterman B, Cohen F, Kaiser P, Folkman S, Wara D
• Injuries in child-care centers: rates, severity, and etiology.
  Pediatrics 1994 Alkon A, Genevro JL, Kaiser PJ, Tschann JM, Chesney M, Boyce WT