Kathi Heffner
Professor of Nursing, Medicine (Geriatrics), Psychiatry; Director, Hubbard Center for Nursing Research on Aging
$2 million over five years
University of Rochester Resilience Research Center (UR³C)
Discovering interventions that foster resilience.
Uncovering the Secrets to Resilience
Why do some individuals overcome early-life stress, trauma, or illness with resilience while others face persistent health challenges? UR³C bridges biological, developmental, psychosocial, and policy perspectives to tackle this question. Building on Rochester’s legacy in biopsychosocial research, UR³C investigates resilience across lifespans, from infancy to old age, to uncover interventions that promote recovery and well-being.
Focus Areas
Research and initiatives at UR3C focus on:
- Transdisciplinary framework development: Unite diverse fields under a shared definition of resilience as adaptive recovery and growth.
- Mechanistic insight: Explore how early-life adversity influences processes like epigenetics, immune regulation, neurobiology, and behavior.
- Accelerated translation: Move research findings into real-world applications through behavioral, clinical, and policy interventions.
Why It Matters
Across society, the scars of early-life adversity often translate into lifelong health disparities, yet many individuals exposed to trauma show remarkable recovery and longevity. UR³C’s research promises to illuminate why and how resilience occurs. By doing so, the center lays the foundation for interventions that prevent trauma’s long-term effects, promote health equity, and foster hope. Their work could reshape caregiving, inform public health strategies, and impact policy at local and national levels. As the leads describe it: “This is hope in a bottle.”
Pioneering Resilience Science
Impact
UR³C aims to make the University of Rochester a global leader in resilience science and the translation of research to practice. By integrating diverse disciplinary strengths and prioritizing equity and well-being, the center also enhances Rochester’s reputation as a hub for societal innovation.
Leads
Lead by Kathi Heffner and Jennie Noll, UR³C is supported by an interdisciplinary team of 18 additional faculty from fields such as genetics, counseling, medicine, public health, and data science.
Jennie Noll
Professor of Psychology; Executive Director, Mt. Hope Family Center
Ever Wonder
What makes someone resilient?
Adverse childhood experiences and early-life stress can impact health and longevity in older adulthood. To what extent remains a driving question across of the University of Rochester’s Resilience Research Center.
Hear from Jennie Noll, professor of psychology and executive director of the Mt. Hope Family Center, about what makes people “resilient”.
Connect with Us
Want to learn more about the work being done at UR³C? Interested in getting involved? Send us an email to get started.