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Ilona S. Yim

Assistant Professor of Psychology & Social Behavior
Ph.D. University of Trier, Germany
Phone: 
(949) 824-0130
Email: 
ilona.yim@uci.edu
Office: 
4562 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway
Specializations: 
psychobiology of stress, developmental psychobiology, behavioral genetics
Department: 
Psychology and Social Behavior

I am interested in psychobiological processes in health and disease, specifically as they relate to human stress. My research focuses on (a) on the origins of individual differences in stress physiology (genetic, neuroendocrine/ immune, psychosocial) and (b) on the influence of stress and health during pregnancy on subsequent fetal and infant development.

 

Web Links of Research Sites

Selected Publications

 

 

  • Wadhwa PD, & Federenko IS (2006). Prenatal stress, human fetal development and birth outcomes: Implications for developmental origins of adult disease. In DM Hodgson and CL Coe (eds.) Perinatal Programming: Early Life Determinants of Adult Health and Disease. Taylor & Francis, London/New York, 2006, pp. 29-46.
  • Kudielka BM, Federenko IS, Hellhammer DH & Wüst S (2006). Morningness and eveningness – The free cortisol rise after awakening in “early birds” and “night owls”. Biological Psychology, 72(2): 141-146.
  • Federenko IS, Wolf JM, Wüst S, Schlotz W, Hellhammer J, Kudielka BM, Kirschbaum C, Hellhammer DH, & Wadhwa PD (2006). Parity does not alter baseline or stimulated activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in women. Developmental Psychobiology, 48(8): 703-711.
  • Federenko IS, Schlotz W, Kirschbaum C, Bartels M, Hellhammer DH, and Wüst S (2006). The heritability of perceived stress. Psychological Medicine 36(3): 375-385.
  • DeRejk RH, Wüst S, Meijer OC, Zennaro MC, Federenko IS, Hellhammer DH, Giacchetti G, Vreugdenhil E, Zitman FG, & de Kloet ER (2006). A common polymorphism in the mineralocorticoid receptor modulates stress responsiveness. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 91(12): 5083-5089.
  • Wüst S, Federenko IS, van Rossum EFC, Koper JW, and Hellhammer DH. (2005). Habituation of cortisol responses to repeated psychosocial stress - further characterization and impact of genetic factors. Psychoneuroendocrinology 30(2): 199-211.
  • Wüst S, Entringer S, Federenko IS, Schlotz W, and Hellhammer DH (2005). Birth weight is associated with salivary cortisol responses to psychosocial stress in adult life. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30(6): 591-598.
  • Bellingrath S, Kumsta R, Meyer J, Moser D, Federenko IS, Hellhammer DH & Wüst S (2005). Assoziation eines Polymorphismus im H6PD Gen mit basaler Cortisolsekretion, Fettmasse und Leptinwerten [Association of a polymorphism in the H6PD gene with baseline cortisol secretion, fat mass and leptin concentration]. Zeitschrift für Medizinische Psychologie 14, 111-117.
  • Wüst S, van Rossum EFC, Federenko IS, Koper JW, Kumsta R, and Hellhammer, DH (2004). Common polymorphisms of the glucocorticoid receptor gene are associated with adrenocortical responses to psychosocial stress. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 89(2): 565-573. Comment in: Chrousos GP, Charmandari E, and Kino T (2004). Glucocorticoid action networks: an introduction to systems biology. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 89(2): 563-564.

 

  • Wüst S, Federenko IS, van Rossum EFC, Koper JW, Kumsta R, Entringer S, and Hellhammer DH (2004). A psychobiological perspective on genetic determinants of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1032: 52-62.
  • Federenko I, Wüst S, Hellhammer DH, Dechoux R, Kumsta R, and Kirschbaum C (2004). Free cortisol responses are influenced by awakening time. Psychoneuroendocrinology 29 (2): 174-184.
  • Federenko IS, and Wadhwa PD (2004). Women’s mental health during pregnancy influences developmental and health outcomes. CNS-Spectrums 9(3): 198-206.
  • Federenko IS, Nagamine M, Hellhammer DH, Wadhwa PD, and Wüst S (2004). The heritability of hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis responses to psychosocial stress is context dependent. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 89(12): 6244-6250.
  • Federenko IS (2003). Einfluss genetischer Faktoren auf die endokrine, kardiovaskuläre und psychologische Stressreaktion. Eine Zwillingsstudie. [Impact of genetic factors on the endocrine, cardiovascular and psychological stress response. A twin study]. Göttingen, Germany: Cuvillier.
  • Wüst S, Wolf J, Hellhammer DH, Federenko I, Schommer N, and Kirschbaum C (2000). The cortisol awakening response - normal values and confounds. Noise and Health 2(7): 79-88.
  • Wüst S, Federenko I, Hellhammer DH, and Kirschbaum C (2000). Genetic factors, perceived chronic stress, and the free cortisol response to awakening. Psychoneuroendocrinology 25(7): 707-720.
  • Schmidt-Reinwald A, Prüssner JC, Hellhammer DH, Federenko I, Rohleder N, Schürmeyer TH, and Kirschbaum C (1999). The cortisol response to awakening in relation to different challenge tests and a 12-hour cortisol rhythm. Life Sciences 64(18): 1653-1660.
  • Kirschbaum C, Schommer N, Federenko I, Gaab J, Neumann O, Oellers M, Rohleder N, Untiedt A, Hanker J, Pirke KM, and Hellhammer DH (1996). Short-term estradiol treatment enhances pituitary-adrenal axis and sympathetic responses to psychosocial stress in healthy young men. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 81(10): 3639-3643.
  • Kirschbaum C, Prüssner JC, Stone AA, Federenko I, Gaab J, Lintz D, Schommer N, and Hellhammer, DH (1995). Persistent high cortisol responses to repeated psychological stress in a subpopulation of healthy men. Psychosomatic Medicine 57(5): 468-474.