Christopher L. Coe, PhD

Position title: Professor Emeritus, Psychology

PhD, State University of New York, Brooklyn

Contact Information

UW-Madison
153 Primate Lab, Harlow
22 N. Charter Street
Madison, WI 53715
ccoe@wisc.edu

Research Statement

The term ‘exposome’ has been used to succinctly capture the diverse influences that the environment and our behavior can have on our physiology, especially during early development. Our research has focused on the potential vulnerabilities that this responsiveness to the world may have during the fetal and infancy periods. Specifically, we investigated the ways that maternal adiposity, nutrition, stress, and infection during pregnancy can affect postnatal development and wellbeing. Some of our studies took advantage of advances in neuroimaging to assess how early life events can affect brain development.

In other research we employed a life course perspective to consider the possibility of more persistent, long-term effects on adult health, including during the transition to old age and senescence. We often used biomarkers of health including hormone and immune indices. More recent studies also examined effects on the commensal bacteria in the digestive tract, the gut microbiome.

Selected Publications

PubMed

Coe, C. L., Lubach, G. R., Amaral, W. Z., Phillips, G. J., Lyte, M., Georgieff, M. K., Rao, R. B., & Connor, J. R. (2025). Infantile Anemia and Iron Treatments Affect the Gut Microbiome of Young Rhesus Monkeys. Microorganisms, 13(10), 2256. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13102256
Coe, C. L., Nimityongskul, F., Lubach, G. R., Luke, K., Rancour, D., & Schomburg, F. M. (2024). Maternal Immunization with Adjuvanted Recombinant Receptor-Binding Domain Protein Provides Immune Protection against SARS-CoV-2 in Infant Monkeys. Vaccines, 12(8), 929. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12080929
Wood, E. K., Reid, B. M., Sheerar, D. S., Donzella, B., Gunnar, M. R., & Coe, C. L. (2024). Lingering Effects of Early Institutional Rearing and Cytomegalovirus Infection on the Natural Killer Cell Repertoire of Adopted Adolescents. Biomolecules, 14(4), 456. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14040456
Williams, C. Y., Wylie, A., Ghobrial, V., Coe, C. L., & Short, S. J. (2023). Racial differences in the associations between adiposity, placental growth hormone and inflammatory cytokines in pregnant women. Frontiers in endocrinology, 14, 1100724. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1100724
Rendina, D. N., Lubach, G. R., Lyte, M., Phillips, G. J., Gosain, A., Pierre, J. F., Vlasova, R. M., Styner, M. A., & Coe, C. L. (2021). Proteobacteria abundance during nursing predicts physical growth and brain volume at one year of age in young rhesus monkeys. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 35(6), e21682. https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202002162R
Sandri, B. J., Kim, J., Lubach, G. R., Lock, E. F., Guerrero, C., Higgins, L., Markowski, T. W., Kling, P. J., Georgieff, M. K., Coe, C. L., & Rao, R. B. (2022). Multiomic profiling of iron-deficient infant monkeys reveals alterations in neurologically important biochemicals in serum and cerebrospinal fluid before the onset of anemia. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology, 322(6), R486–R500. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00235.2021
Berkowitz, L., Cabrera-Reyes, F., Salazar, C., Ryff, C. D., Coe, C., & Rigotti, A. (2022). Sphingolipid Profiling: A Promising Tool for Stratifying the Metabolic Syndrome-Associated Risk. Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 8, 785124. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2021.785124
Hong, J., Kapoor, A., DaWalt, L. S., Maltman, N., Kim, B., Berry-Kravis, E. M., Almeida, D., Coe, C., & Mailick, M. (2021). Stress and genetics influence hair cortisol in FMR1 premutation carrier mothers of children with fragile X syndrome. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 129, 105266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105266
Dean, D. C., 3rd, Madrid, A., Planalp, E. M., Moody, J. F., Papale, L. A., Knobel, K. M., Wood, E. K., McAdams, R. M., Coe, C. L., Hill Goldsmith, H., Davidson, R. J., Alisch, R. S., & Kling, P. J. (2021). Cord blood DNA methylation modifications in infants are associated with white matter microstructure in the context of prenatal maternal depression and anxiety. Scientific reports, 11(1), 12181. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91642-0
Surachman, A., Daw, J., Bray, B. C., Alexander, L. M., Coe, C. L., & Almeida, D. M. (2020). Childhood socioeconomic status, comorbidity of chronic kidney disease risk factors, and kidney function among adults in the midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. BMC nephrology, 21(1), 188. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12882-020-01846-1
Kapoor A, Lubach GR, Ziegler TE, Coe CL. (2016) Hormone levels in neonatal hair reflect prior maternal stress exposure during pregnancy. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 66:111-7. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.01.010.
Simpson IA, Ponnuru P, Klinger ME, Myers RL, Devraj K, Coe CL, Lubach GR, Carruthers A, Connor JR. (2015) A novel model for brain iron uptake: introducing the concept of regulation. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. 35(1):48-57. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2014.168.
Coe CL, Lubach GR. (2014) Vital and vulnerable functions of the primate placenta critical for infant health and brain development. Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. 35(4):439-446.
Calabrese E, Badea A, Coe CL, Lubach GR, Styner MA, Johnson GA. (2014) Investigating the tradeoffs between spatial resolution and diffusion sampling for brain mapping with diffusion tractography: Time well spent?. Human Brain Mapping. 35(11):5667-85.
Nelson AM, Coe CL, Juckett MB, Rumble ME, Rathouz PJ, Hematti P, Costanzo ES. (2014) Sleep quality following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: longitudinal trajectories and biobehavioral correlates. Bone Marrow Transplantation. 18;0.
Wong JD, Mailick MR, Greenberg JS, Hong J, Coe CL. (2014) Daily Work Stress and Awakening Cortisol in Mothers of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Fragile X Syndrome. Family Relations. 63(1):135-147.
Song J, Mailick MR, Ryff CD, Coe CL, Greenberg JS, Hong J. (2014) Allostatic load in parents of children with developmental disorders: Moderating influence of positive affect. Journal of Health Psychology. 19(2):262-72.
Costanzo ES, Juckett MB, Coe CL. (2013) Biobehavioral influences on recovery following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Brain, Behavior and Immunity. 30 Suppl:S68-74.
Wong JD, Seltzer MM, Greenberg JS, Hong J, Almeida DM, Coe CL. (2012) Stressful life events and daily stressors affect awakening cortisol level in midlife mothers of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Aging and Mental Health. 16(8):939-49.
Willette AA, Coe CL, Colman RJ, Bendlin BB, Kastman EK, Field AS, Alexander AL, Allison DB, Weindruch RH, Johnson SC. (2011) Calorie restriction reduces psychological stress reactivity and its association with brain volume and microstructure in aged rhesus monkeys. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011 Nov 24. [Epub ahead of print].
Coe CL, Lubach GR, Bianco L, Beard JL. (2009) A history of iron deficiency anemia during infancy alters brain monoamine activity later in juvenile monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology. 51(3):301-9.
Shirtcliff EA, Coe CL, Pollak SD. (2009) Early childhood stress is associated with elevated antibody levels to herpes simplex virus type 1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 24;106(8):2963-7.
Lubach GR, Coe CL. (2008) Selective impairment of cognitive performance in the young monkey following recovery from iron deficiency. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. 29(1):11-7.
Geguchadze RN, Coe CL, Lubach GR, Clardy TW, Beard JL, Connor JR. (2008) CSF proteomic analysis reveals persistent iron deficiency-induced alterations in non-human primate infants. Journal of Neurochemistry. 105(1):127-36.
Coe CL, Laudenslager ML. (2007) Psychosocial influences on immunity, including effects on immune maturation and senescence. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 21(8):1000-8.