Yellowstone Times

Neha John-Henderson, a psychology professor at Montana State University (MSU), will be speaking on March 4 as part of the Provost’s Distinguished Lecturer Series. Her lecture, titled “The Long and Winding Road: My Journey to Resilience Research and the Power of Social Connection,” will take place at 7 p.m. in the Museum of the Rockies’ Hager Auditorium.

John-Henderson's journey into resilience research began with a personal experience when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She said, “I had to take a break from graduate school to be with my mother. During these challenging times, I realized that the stress and uncertainty was affecting my own health.” This realization shifted her focus towards understanding how psychological factors influence health.

Her work primarily examines how loneliness and social connectedness impact disease risk. During her postdoctoral studies, she explored how stress affects health through physiological pathways, developing expertise in measuring sleep, cardiovascular disease risk, and immune system markers.

Upon joining MSU in 2016, John-Henderson found that her interests aligned with ongoing research addressing health disparities in Native communities in Montana and Alaska. Collaborating with Allen Harmsen and other researchers at Blackfeet Community College (BCC), she focused on social connectedness as a resilience factor for health within these communities.

“It worked out that my background and interests lined up with what the community had been doing before I came,” John-Henderson explained. Her research has shown that strong community ties can mitigate negative health effects associated with childhood trauma among Blackfeet adults.

With support from various grants including those from the National Institutes of Health, John-Henderson continues to study social connectedness using both subjective perceptions like loneliness and objective measures such as social network size. The team investigates its impact on cardiometabolic health, immune function, and sleep quality.

John-Henderson noted that modernization might contribute to decreased community connection due to increased isolation or phone use. However, she emphasized that fostering social connections is crucial for improving overall health not just within Native communities but universally.

“It’s been shown across racial and ethnic groups that...social connection is good for your health,” she stated. The upcoming lecture is free and open to the public as part of MSU’s annual series recognizing outstanding faculty contributions.