Sheila Gahagan is a subspecialty board certified, Developmental-Behavioral   Pediatrician and an epidemiologist whose research is aimed at understanding health disparities in child growth and development.   She is funded by NIH to study early psychosocial and socioeconomic risks for the development of obesity. She collaborates with CHGD member, Betsy Lozoff, who studies the impact of iron deficiency anemia on brain development and behavior.   Gahagan also continues to collaborate with CHGD members, Susan McDonough and Arnold Sameroff, in their research on the importance of environmental risk factors and early infant regulations problems in determining later behavioral health problems. Gahagan continues to focus on the role of breast feeding, home visiting and day care in modifying and moderating risk for obesity and other common health problems.   Another active collaboration is with CHGD member, Delia Vazquez, on the role of stress hormones in children born to mothers with depression.

Gahagan has considerable expertise in cultural factors and their role in health behavior.   She has also studied how culture influences physician-patient communication. Previous work has involved Hispanic, Native American and African American patient populations.

Other on-going research projects include developmentally appropriate feeding of infants, and early childhood risk factors in the development of type II diabetes in American infants.