Spikes Lab

We are incredibly grateful to all participants that made our research possible!

As of June 2nd 2025, recruitment for our study has officially concluded. We want to extend our deepest gratitude to each of you who took the time to participate.

By sharing your experiences, you have helped to shed light on how chronic stress uniquely affects the health of African American women - insights that are often overlooked in scientific research. Your participation is a powerful step toward advancing health equity and informing future interventions that can better serve your communities.

We look forward to sharing updates on our findings in the future. Thank you again for your trust, time, and support

• The Role of Psychosocial Stress on Cardiovascular Disease in Women: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.
  Ebong, I. A., Quesada, O., Fonkoue, I. T., Mattina, D., Sullivan, S., Oliveira, G. M. M., Spikes, T., Sharma, J., Commodore, Y., Ogunniyi, M. O., Aggarwal, N. R., Vaccarino, V., & American College of Cardiology Cardiovascular Disease in Women Committee (2024). Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 84(3), 298–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2024.05.016

• A Qualitative Study: Hypertension Stigma Among Black Women.
  Abel, W. M., Spikes, T., & Greer, D. B. (2021). The Journal of cardiovascular nursing, 36(2), 96–103. https://doi.org/10.1097/JCN.0000000000000759

• Biological Age as a Predictor of Arterial Stiffness in Young and Early Midlife Black and White Women
  Spikes, T. A., Alonso, A., Thorpe, R. J., Pelkmans, J., Higgins, M., Sullivan, S., Dunbar, S. B., Michopoulos, V., Searles, C., Lewis, T. T., Mehta, P. K., Pemu, P., Taylor, H., & Quyyumi, A. (2025). American journal of hypertension, hpaf059. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajh/hpaf059

• The associations among illness perceptions, resilient coping, and medication adherence in young adult hypertensive black women.
  Spikes, T., Higgins, M., Lewis, T., & Dunbar, S. B. (2019). The associations among illness perceptions, resilient coping, and medication adherence in young adult hypertensive black women. Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.), 21(11), 1695–1704. https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.13712

• Effect of Early Life Trauma Exposure on Vascular Dysfunction in Black Men and Women.
  Spikes, T. A., Thorpe, R. J., Jr, Michopoulos, V., Wharton, W., Pelkmans, J., Dunbar, S. B., Mehta, P. K., Pemu, P., Taylor, H., & Quyyumi, A. (2025). Journal of the American Heart Association, 14(5), e036498. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.124.036498

More publications to be posted!

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Here you will find our monthly newsletters, which provide updates on the progress of our research project, along with photos and highlights from events our lab has attended. This page serves as a space to share our work, celebrate milestones, and keep participants and community members connected to our ongoing efforts.

April 2025 Edition
Written by Chassidy Arnold, Research Assistant

July 2025 Edition
Written by Irene Jang, Research Assistant

August 2025 Edition
Written by Irene Jang, Research Assistant

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Contact Us

Please feel free to reach out with any questions, concerns, or just to connect! We always welcome your feedback and look forward to hearing from you.

Email: tspikes@emory.edu
Lab Instagram: @drtelisa
Lab Location: 1520 Clifton Rd N E, Atlanta, GA 30322

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