Dr. Teresa Seeman is a distinguished social epidemiologist whose pioneering research has transformed our understanding of how social and psychological factors influence health trajectories across the lifespan. She currently serves as Professor of Epidemiology at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine in the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where she holds the Elizabeth R. and Thomas E. Plott Chair in Gerontology. With formal training in epidemiology and post-doctoral specialization in neuroendocrinology, Dr. Seeman brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to her work on the social determinants of health. Her career has been marked by sustained leadership in major longitudinal studies examining the biological pathways linking social experiences to health outcomes in aging populations. She also serves as co-Director of the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health, fostering collaborative research at the intersection of social science and biology.
Dr. Seeman's seminal research with the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging established foundational evidence that social relationships and psychological resources significantly impact physical and cognitive health in later life, with her 1993 publication becoming one of the most influential works in gerontology. She pioneered the application of the concept of allostatic load as a multisystem measure of biological risk, demonstrating how this metric predicts health outcomes and is shaped by social integration, socioeconomic status, and psychological factors. Her longitudinal studies have revealed how socioeconomic disadvantage accumulates across the life course to dysregulate major biological systems, contributing to health disparities in aging populations. With numerous publications cited over 700 times, including landmark papers on social network ties and mortality, Dr. Seeman's work has fundamentally reshaped how researchers conceptualize the biological embedding of social experiences. Her innovative research methodology has established new standards for measuring the complex interplay between social environments and biological processes.
Beyond her individual research contributions, Dr. Seeman has been instrumental in building major collaborative initiatives that have advanced the field of social epidemiology globally. She currently leads an NIA-funded Research Network on Early Adversity & Later Life Reversibility, investigating potential interventions to mitigate the long-term health impacts of early life stress through biological and social pathways. As a dedicated mentor, she has trained generations of scholars who now lead their own research programs examining the social determinants of health across diverse populations. Her recent work extends into gene regulation and eudaimonic well-being, demonstrating her continued commitment to exploring novel mechanisms through which social experiences become biologically embedded. Dr. Seeman remains at the forefront of developing integrated life-course models that will inform future interventions to promote health equity and longevity across populations.
