Chandra Jackson, Ph.D., M.S.

Senior Investigator

Epidemiology Branch/Social and Environmental Determinants of Health Equity Group

NIEHS

A327
David P Rall Building
111 Tw Alexander Dr
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

984-287-3701

chandra.jackson@nih.gov

Research Topics

Sleep, an essential human need for maintaining biological homeostasis, is a seemingly simple behavior and yet complex physiological state. It is not entirely endogenous and is, therefore, positively or negatively affected by modifiable physical (e.g. light; temperature; noise), as well as social (e.g. psychosocial stress) environmental factors. These factors vary by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Preventing or minimizing the impact of environmental disturbances on sleep duration, quality, and timing could help populations avoid or delay a host of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, while addressing health disparities.

My research group seeks to determine the social and biological pathways linking these upstream, modifiable physical and social environmental factors to sleep and cardiovascular health in the overall population and by race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

Biography

Dr. Jackson is an Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator and earned a M.S. in Cardiovascular Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Epidemiology from The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She was an Alonzo Smythe Yerby postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Research Associate at the Harvard Catalyst Clinical and Translational Science Center. She serves as a member of the editorial board of Sleep Health, the journal of the National Sleep Foundation, and has received several merit-based awards. For instance, she received the Charlotte Silverman Award for outstanding commitment to public health, policy, and community outreach at Johns Hopkins and an Outstanding Fellows Award at Harvard.

Selected Publications

  1. Lim DC, Najafi A, Afifi L, Bassetti C, Buysse DJ, Han F, Högl B, Melaku YA, Morin CM, Pack AI, Poyares D, Somers VK, Eastwood PR, Zee PC, Jackson CL, World Sleep Society Global Sleep Health Taskforce. The need to promote sleep health in public health agendas across the globe. Lancet Public Health. 2023;8(10):e820-e826.
  2. Jackson CL, Walker JR, Brown MK, Das R, Jones NL. A workshop report on the causes and consequences of sleep health disparities. Sleep. 2020;43(8).
  3. Sweeney MR, Nichols HB, Jones RR, Olshan AF, Keil AP, Engel LS, James P, Sandler DP, White AJ, Jackson CL. Exposure to indoor light at night in relation to multiple dimensions of sleep health: Findings from the Sister Study. Sleep. 2023.
  4. Mehra R, Chung MK, Olshansky B, Dobrev D, Jackson CL, Kundel V, Linz D, Redeker NS, Redline S, Sanders P, Somers VK, American Heart Association Electrocardiography and Arrhythmias Committee of the Council on Clinical Cardiology; and Stroke Council. Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Cardiac Arrhythmias in Adults: Mechanistic Insights and Clinical Implications: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2022;146(9):e119-e136.

Related Scientific Focus Areas

This page was last updated on Tuesday, July 18, 2023