Abbey Alkon, RN, PhD, FAAN

Professor
Family Health Care Nursing

As a Professor in the Family Health Care Nursing department at UCSF, my career has been dedicated to conducting impactful research and addressing important issues in the field of family health care. I have authored several research publications covering a wide range of topics, including early care and education programs/child care, environmental exposure, autonomic nervous system, and healthy habits including physical activity and nutrition. My work has explored the pesticide exposures in child care centers, the effects of child care health consultation on health and safety standards in child care programs, the effects of prenatal mindfulness intervention on infant autonomic and behavioral reactivity, and the developmental consequences of early life stress on children's physiological regulation and behavior.

I have had the privilege of serving as the Principal Investigator for projects sponsored by the NIH, focusing on reducing pesticide exposures to preschool-age children in California child care centers and examining stress, autonomic reactivity, and mental health in low-income, Latino children. Through my research, I aim to contribute to our understanding of how to improve the health and well-being of young children and their families.

Publications: 

Predictors of pesticide levels in carpet dust collected from child care centers in Northern California, USA.

Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology

Hazard K, Alkon A, Gunier RB, Castorina R, Camann D, Quarderer S, Bradman A

Effects of a liquefied petroleum gas stove intervention on stillbirth, congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality: A multi-country household air pollution intervention network trial.

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)

Younger A, Ye W, Alkon A, Harknett K, Kirby MA, Elon L, Lovvorn AE, Wang J, Diaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Castañaza Gonzalez A, Alarcon LM, Mukeshimana A, Rosa G, Chiang M, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Pillarisetti A, Piedrahita R, Johnson MA, Craik R, Papageorghiou AT, Toenjes A, Williams KN, Underhill LJ, Hartinger SM, Nicolaou L, Chang HH, Naeher LP, Rosenthal J, Checkley W, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Thompson LM, Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) Investigators

Effects of a LPG stove and fuel intervention on adverse maternal outcomes: A multi-country randomized controlled trial conducted by the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN).

Environment international

Younger A, Alkon A, Harknett K, Kirby MA, Elon L, Lovvorn AE, Wang J, Ye W, Diaz-Artiga A, McCracken JP, Castañaza Gonzalez A, Monroy Alarcon L, Mukeshimana A, Rosa G, Chiang M, Balakrishnan K, Garg SS, Pillarisetti A, Piedrahita R, Johnson M, Craik R, Papageorghiou AT, Toenjes A, Quinn A, Williams KN, Underhill L, Chang HH, Naeher LP, Rosenthal J, Checkley W, Peel JL, Clasen TF, Thompson LM, HAPIN investigators

Mixed-method assessment of caregiver feeding practices in early care and education centres during COVID-19.

Public health nutrition

Farrer Mackie J, Gray H, Himmelgreen D, Marshall J, Alkon A, Kirby R

Dampened Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Stress and Substance Use in Adolescence.

Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress

Rahal D, Alkon A, Shirtcliff E, Gonzales N, Fuligni A, Eskenazi B, Deardorff J

"Just sit and eat." Adult and Child Mealtime Responsibilities in Early Care and Education Centers During COVID-19 in Florida.

Ecology of food and nutrition

Farrer Mackie J, Marshall J, Gray HL, Himmelgreen D, Alkon A, Kirby RS

"I Wear a Mask. I Wear It All the Time. The Kids Don't Wear Masks": Early Childhood Education Mask-Wearing During COVID-19 in Florida.

Health promotion practice

Farrer Mackie J, Gray HL, Marshall J, Himmelgreen D, Alkon A, Kirby RS

The Effects of a Prenatal Mindfulness Intervention on Infant Autonomic and Behavioral Reactivity and Regulation.

Psychosomatic medicine

Noroña-Zhou AN, Coccia M, Epel E, Vieten C, Adler NE, Laraia B, Jones-Mason K, Alkon A, Bush NR

Mealtime Best Practices and Infection Control in Early Care and Education Centers during COVID-19.

Child: care, health and development

Mackie JF, Marshall J, Alkon A, Gray H, Himmelgreen D, Kirby RS

The prism of reactivity: Concordance between biobehavioral domains of infant stress reactivity.

Infant behavior & development

Rudd KL, Caron Z, Jones-Mason K, Coccia M, Conradt E, Alkon A, Bush NR

Preschool-Age Children's Pesticide Exposures in Child Care Centers and at Home in Northern California.

Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners

Alkon A, Gunier RB, Hazard K, Castorina R, Hoffman PD, Scott RP, Anderson KA, Bradman A

Development of an online curriculum for California early care and education providers on healthy beverages.

BMC public health

Hazard K, Lee D, Ritchie L, Rose R, Rios LKD, Plank K, Alkon A

Self-Paced Online Training on Healthy Beverage Policy for Child Care Providers.

Journal of nutrition education and behavior

Lee DL, Alkon A, Plank K, Neelon M, Díaz Rios LK, Hecht CE, Thompson HR, Ritchie LD

Nutrition Standards For Infants and Young Children can be Implemented by Family Child Care Home Providers.

Global pediatric health

Ritchie LD, Keeton V, Lee DL, Gurzo K, Homel Vitale E, Au LE, Alkon A

Latent profiles of children's autonomic nervous system reactivity early in life predict later externalizing problems.

Developmental psychobiology

Roubinov D, Tein JY, Kogut K, Gunier R, Eskenazi B, Alkon A

Infant weight-for-length gain associated with autonomic nervous system reactivity.

Pediatric research

Rudd KL, Alkon A, Abrams B, Bush NR

Child Care in the Time of COVID-19: A Period of Challenge and Opportunity.

The Journal of pediatrics

Hashikawa A, Sells J, DeJonge P, Alkon A, Martin ET, Shope TR

National Health and Safety Standards: Family Child Care Homes Compared With Child Care Centers.

Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners

Alkon A, Rose R, Hazard K, Moser D

Maternal separation and contact to a stranger more than reunion affect the autonomic nervous system in the mother-child dyad: ANS measurements during Strange Situation Procedure in mother-child dyad.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology

Roder E, Koehler-Dauner F, Krause S, Prinz J, Rottler E, Alkon A, Kolassa IT, Gündel H, Fegert JM, Ziegenhain U, Waller C

Effects of a multipronged beverage intervention on young children's beverage intake and weight: a cluster-randomized pilot study.

Public health nutrition

Grummon AH, Cabana MD, Hecht AA, Alkon A, McCulloch CE, Brindis CD, Patel AI

Putting patients at the center of kidney care transitions: PREPARE NOW, a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Contemporary clinical trials

Green JA, Ephraim PL, Hill-Briggs FF, Browne T, Strigo TS, Hauer CL, Stametz RA, Darer JD, Patel UD, Lang-Lindsey K, Bankes BL, Bolden SA, Danielson P, Ruff S, Schmidt L, Swoboda A, Woods P, Vinson B, Littlewood D, Jackson G, Pendergast JF, St Clair Russell J, Collins K, Norfolk E, Bucaloiu ID, Kethireddy S, Collins C, Davis D, dePrisco J, Malloy D, Diamantidis CJ, Fulmer S, Martin J, Schatell D, Tangri N, Sees A, Siegrist C, Breed J, Medley A, Graboski E, Billet J, Hackenberg M, Singer D, Stewart S, Alkon A, Bhavsar NA, Lewis-Boyer L, Martz C, Yule C, Greer RC, Saunders M, Cameron B, Boulware LE

Development of Quantitative Research Skills Competencies to Improve Doctor of Philosophy Nursing Student Training.

The Journal of nursing education

Thompson LM, Zablotska LB, Chen JL, Jong S, Alkon A, Lee SJ, Vlahov D

The effect of early child care attendance on childhood asthma and wheezing: A meta-analysis.

The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma

Swartz A, Collier T, Young CA, Cruz E, Bekmezian A, Coffman J, Celedon J, Alkon A, Cabana MD

Worry About Deportation and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Adult Women: The Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas Study.

Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine

Torres JM, Deardorff J, Gunier RB, Harley KG, Alkon A, Kogut K, Eskenazi B

Effects of pre- and postnatal maternal stress on infant temperament and autonomic nervous system reactivity and regulation in a diverse, low-income population-CORRIGENDUM.

Development and psychopathology

Bush NR, Jones-Mason K, Coccia M, Caron Z, Alkon A, Thomas M, Coleman-Phox K, Wadhwa PD, Laraia BA, Adler NE, Epel ES

Effects of pre- and postnatal maternal stress on infant temperament and autonomic nervous system reactivity and regulation in a diverse, low-income population.

Development and psychopathology

Bush NR, Jones-Mason K, Coccia M, Caron Z, Alkon A, Thomas M, Coleman-Phox K, Wadhwa PD, Laraia BA, Adler NE, Epel ES

An Integrated Pest Management Intervention Improves Knowledge, Pest Control, and Practices in Family Child Care Homes.

International journal of environmental research and public health

Stephens M, Hazard K, Moser D, Cox D, Rose R, Alkon A

Interprofessional Oral Health Education Improves Knowledge, Confidence, and Practice for Pediatric Healthcare Providers.

Frontiers in public health

Cooper D, Kim J, Duderstadt K, Stewart R, Lin B, Alkon A

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents.

Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE

Johnson MM, Deardorff J, Parra K, Alkon A, Eskenazi B, Shirtcliff E

The relationship between maternal responsivity, socioeconomic status, and resting autonomic nervous system functioning in Mexican American children.

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology

Johnson M, Deardorff J, Davis EL, Martinez W, Eskenazi B, Alkon A

Integrated Pest Management Intervention in Child Care Centers Improves Knowledge, Pest Control, and Practices.

Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners

Alkon A, Nouredini S, Swartz A, Sutherland AM, Stephens M, Davidson NA, Rose R

Measuring Cardiac Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Activity in Toddlers - Resting and Developmental Challenges.

Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE

Bush NR, Caron ZK, Blackburn KS, Alkon A

Supporting SIDS Families: The Public Health Nurse SIDS Home Visit.

Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)

Stastny PF, Keens TG, Alkon A

Health and Safety Checklist for Early Care and Education Programs to Assess Key National Health and Safety Standards.

Maternal and child health journal

Alkon A, Rose R, Wolff M, Kotch JB, Aronson SS

Latino children's body mass index at 2-3.5 years predicts sympathetic nervous system activity at 5 years.

Childhood obesity (Print)

Alkon A, Harley KG, Neilands TB, Tambellini K, Lustig RH, Boyce WT, Eskenazi B

Nutrition and physical activity randomized control trial in child care centers improves knowledge, policies, and children's body mass index.

BMC public health

Alkon A, Crowley AA, Neelon SE, Hill S, Pan Y, Nguyen V, Rose R, Savage E, Forestieri N, Shipman L, Kotch JB

Oral health education for pediatric nurse practitioner students.

Journal of dental education

Golinveaux J, Gerbert B, Cheng J, Duderstadt K, Alkon A, Mullen S, Lin B, Miller A, Zhan L

Preterm delivery and low birth weight in singleton pregnancies conceived by women with and without a history of infertility.

Fertility and sterility

Camarano L, Alkon A, Nachtigall RD, Schembri M, Weiss S, Croughan MS

Chapter 12: Poverty, Stress and Autonomic Reactivity in The Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development

Chapter 12: Poverty, Stress and Autonomic Reactivity in The Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development.

Alkon A, Wolff B, Boyce WT; Maholmes, V. & King, R.B, Book Editors

Developmental changes in autonomic nervous system resting and reactivity measures in Latino children from 6 to 60 months of age.

Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP

Alkon A, Boyce WT, Davis NV, Eskenazi B

Maternal prenatal and child organophosphate pesticide exposures and children's autonomic function.

Neurotoxicology

Quirós-Alcalá L, Alkon AD, Boyce WT, Lippert S, Davis NV, Bradman A, Barr DB, Eskenazi B

Autonomic nervous system reactivity: children with and without sickle cell disease.

Nursing research

Treadwell MJ, Alkon A, Styles L, Boyce WT

Stress reactivity as a moderator of family stress, physical and mental health, and functional impairment for children with sickle cell disease.

Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP

Treadwell MJ, Alkon A, Quirolo KC, Boyce WT

Child care health consultation improves health and safety policies and practices.

Academic pediatrics

Alkon A, Bernzweig J, To K, Wolff M, Mackie JF

Assessing health and safety in early care and education programs: development of the CCHP health and safety checklist.

Journal of pediatric health care : official publication of National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners

Alkon A, To K, Wolff M, Mackie JF, Bernzweig J

Child care health consultation programs in California: models, services, and facilitators.

Public health nursing (Boston, Mass.)

Alkon A, Bernzweig J, To K, Mackie JF, Wolff M, Elman J

Sleep and napping patterns in 3-to-5-year old children attending full-day childcare centers.

Journal of pediatric psychology

Ward TM, Gay C, Anders TF, Alkon A, Lee KA

Sleep disturbance, fatigue, and stress among Chinese-American parents with ICU hospitalized infants.

Issues in mental health nursing

Lee SY, Lee KA, Rankin SH, Weiss SJ, Alkon A

Development of the Child Health Indicator Assessment (CHIA) in a community-based nurse-managed center.

Pediatric nursing

Sligar K, Savitz M, Schapiro NA, Alkon A, Martin H, Humphreys J

Children's memory for a mild stressor: the role of sympathetic activation and parasympathetic withdrawal.

Developmental psychobiology

Quas JA, Carrick N, Alkon A, Goldstein L, Boyce WT

Early father involvement moderates biobehavioral susceptibility to mental health problems in middle childhood.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Boyce WT, Essex MJ, Alkon A, Goldsmith HH, Kraemer HC, Kupfer DJ

Child care health consultation programs: barriers and recommendations.

Maternal and child health journal

Farrer J, Alkon A, To K

The ontogeny of autonomic measures in 6- and 12-month-old infants.

Developmental psychobiology

Alkon A, Lippert S, Vujan N, Rodriquez ME, Boyce WT, Eskenazi B

Acculturation and stress in Chinese-American parents of infants cared for in the intensive care unit.

Advances in neonatal care : official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses

Lee SY, Lee KA, Rankin SH, Alkon A, Weiss SJ

Autonomic reactivity and clinical severity in children with sickle cell disease.

Clinical autonomic research : official journal of the Clinical Autonomic Research Society

Pearson SR, Alkon A, Treadwell M, Wolff B, Quirolo K, Boyce WT

Principles and practices of neurodevelopmental assessment in children: lessons learned from the Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research.

Environmental health perspectives

Dietrich KN, Eskenazi B, Schantz S, Yolton K, Rauh VA, Johnson CB, Alkon A, Canfield RL, Pessah IN, Berman RF

Developmental and contextual influences on autonomic reactivity in young children.

Developmental psychobiology

Alkon A, Goldstein LH, Smider N, Essex MJ, Kupfer DJ, Boyce WT

Autonomic reactivity and psychopathology in middle childhood.

The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science

Boyce WT, Quas J, Alkon A, Smider NA, Essex MJ, Kupfer DJ

A violence-prevention and evaluation project with ethnically diverse populations.

American journal of preventive medicine

Alkon A, Tschann JM, Ruane SH, Wolff M, Hittner A

Dissociations between psychobiologic reactivity and emotional expression in children.

Developmental psychobiology

Quas JA, Hong M, Alkon A, Boyce WT

Injuries in child care centers: gender-environment interactions.

Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention

Alkon A, Ragland DR, Tschann JM, Genevro JL, Kaiser P, Boyce WT

The epidemiology of injuries in 4 child care centers.

Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine

Alkon A, Genevro JL, Tschann JM, Kaiser P, Ragland DR, Boyce WT

Resilience and vulnerability among preschool children: family functioning, temperament, and behavior problems.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Tschann JM, Kaiser P, Chesney MA, Alkon A, Boyce WT

Dimensions of psychobiologic reactivity: Cardiovascular responses to laboratory stressors in preschool children.

Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine

Boyce WT, Alkon A, Tschann JM, Chesney MA, Alpert BS

Psychobiologic reactivity to stress and childhood respiratory illnesses: results of two prospective studies.

Psychosomatic medicine

Boyce WT, Chesney M, Alkon A, Tschann JM, Adams S, Chesterman B, Cohen F, Kaiser P, Folkman S, Wara D

Injuries in child-care centers: rates, severity, and etiology.

Pediatrics

Alkon A, Genevro JL, Kaiser PJ, Tschann JM, Chesney M, Boyce WT