About

Julianna Deardorff is a Professor in the Division of Community Health Sciences and serves as the Program Head of the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Program. She is also the Director of the MCHB Center of Excellence. Her role involves leading initiatives and research in maternal, child, and adolescent health, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and practices in these areas. She is associated with the Department of Public Health at UC Berkeley and is involved in various academic and professional activities related to community health sciences.

Research topics

• Developmental psychology
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Clinical psychology
• Biology
• Social psychology

Selected publications

• Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene exposure, cognition, and cortical thickness at middle age in US Latinas (the CHAMACOS Maternal Cognition Study): a prospective cohort study

  The Lancet Planetary Health · 2026-03-01

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a persistent organochlorine pesticide, continues to be used for malaria control under the Stockholm Convention. We investigated associations between exposure to DDT and its metabolite dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and midlife cognitive function and brain structure among primarily Mexican-born Latina women in an agricultural community in California, USA. METHODS: In the CHAMACOS Maternal Cognition Study, a prospective cohort study, we assessed global and domain-specific cognitive performance in 472 women. A subset of 95 women underwent T1-weighted brain MRI to measure cortical thickness. We evaluated associations between serum p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE concentrations-measured 12 years earlier-and cognitive Z scores and cortical thickness using linear regression. Bayesian hierarchical models accounted for co-exposure to other organochlorine pesticides. Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype was assessed as a potential modifier. FINDINGS: Higher p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE concentrations were significantly associated with lower executive function scores (p,p'-DDT β=-0·10 [95% CI -0·18 to -0·02]; p,p'-DDE β=-0·09 [-0·19 to 0·00]; SDs per ten-fold increase in serum concentration). No associations were observed with other cognitive domains. Results were robust to adjustment for APOE genotype and organochlorine co-exposures. No effect modification by APOE ε4 status was found. Both exposures were associated with greater frontal lobe cortical thickness, particularly in the medial orbitofrontal and pars orbitalis regions. INTERPRETATION: p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE exposure was associated with reduced executive function more than a decade later, and with altered frontal brain structure. These findings suggest potential long-term neurodevelopmental effects of legacy organochlorine exposure and warrant further investigation. FUNDING: US National Institutes of Health and US Environmental Protection Agency.

  PublisherDOI

• Where Do Adolescent Digital Twins Succeed and Fail? A Multi-layer Validation of Survey-Anchored Generative Agents with an LLM Backbone

  Research Square · 2026-02-17

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Associations among familism, maternal parenting, and weight-related behaviors in Mexican American adolescents: a cross-sectional structural equation modeling study

  BMC Public Health · 2026-03-25

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Mexican American adolescents in the U.S. face disproportionately high rates of obesity. Familism, a core Mexican cultural value emphasizing family closeness, and parenting processes such as communication and monitoring are associated with adolescents’ weight-related behaviors such as diet, physical activity, sleep, screen time and weight outcomes. Participants were 439 mother-adolescent dyads (47.2% boys) from the CHAMACOS cohort, a longitudinal study of Mexican-origin families in California’s Salinas Valley. Data were collected at the 14-year study visit. Adolescents reported on familism, maternal communication and monitoring, and their own weight-related behaviors. Anthropometric data were collected to calculate BMI percentiles. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables and examine gender differences. Familism was positively associated with maternal communication and monitoring, as well as with adolescent physical activity and sleep, and negatively with screen time. Mother-youth communication was related to longer sleep duration, while maternal monitoring was not significantly related to any weight-related behaviors. Fruit and vegetable intake and sleep were negatively associated with weight status. Gender differences were observed: for girls, mother-daughter communication was linked to longer sleep duration, and for boys, familism was related to higher physical activity. The results highlight significant associations between cultural values, maternal parenting, and healthy weight-related behaviors among Latino adolescents. These findings emphasize that incorporating gender-sensitive cultural and family dynamics may enhance the design of obesity prevention strategies for this population.

  PublisherDOI

• The role of high BMI from infancy forward on clinician-rated pubertal timing in a large US sample

  The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2026-03-11 · 1 citations

  article

  CONTEXT: High childhood adiposity accelerates pubertal timing, particularly in females. However, it is unclear when in childhood intervention is most important. OBJECTIVE: To disentangle the associations of body mass index (BMI) during infancy, early, mid-, and late childhood with pubertal timing. METHODS: We studied 132,452 (46.6% female) full-term singletons born in Kaiser Permanente Northern California affiliated facilities between 01/01/2003 and 12/31/2011. A mediation analysis was used to disentangle how BMI during infancy (<2 years), early (2-<5 years), mid- (5-<9 years) and late (9+ years) childhood is associated with clinician-assessed Sexual Maturity Ratings (SMRs) for pubarche, thelarche, and gonadarche. Controlled direct effects isolated the impact of high BMI in earlier childhood periods only, while total effects included accumulating impact through subsequently high BMI. Risks for outcome onset (SMR≥2) were assessed for BMI 1 and 2 standard deviations above the population mean (+1SD and +2SD), respectively. RESULTS: Pubertal timing was not meaningfully associated with high BMI in infancy and early childhood (risk differences <0.001 to 0.007). High BMI in mid- and late childhood was associated with earlier pubertal onset, particularly in females. At median onset age, controlled direct effect risk differences for mid-childhood BMI +2SD ranged from 0.015, 95%CI (0.013,0.017) for male pubarche to 0.112, 95%CI (0.103,0.121) for female thelarche. Mid-childhood total effects exceeded controlled direct effects, indicating accumulation of impact due to persistence of high BMI into late childhood. CONCLUSION: Preventing high BMI in mid- and late childhood, but not in the first 4 years of life, may decelerate pubertal onset.

  PublisherDOI

• Erratum: A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents

  Journal of Visualized Experiments · 2025-09-08

  erratum

  This corrects the article 10.3791/55393.

  PublisherDOI

• Persistent organochlorine pesticides and cardiometabolic outcomes among middle-aged Latina women in a California agricultural community: The CHAMACOS Maternal Cognition Study

  Environment International · 2025-01-25 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Environmental exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds is hypothesized to increase risk of cardiovascular disease through effects on obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. We examined the relationship between serum concentrations of persistent organochlorine pesticides and biologic markers of inflammation and cardiometabolic disease, measured over a decade later, in a cohort of middle-aged and primarily immigrant Latina women living in an underserved agricultural community in California. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used data from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas-Maternal Cognition Study (CHAMACOS-MCS). We included 468 women who had concentrations of organochlorine pesticides measured in serum collected in 2009-2011 and complete follow-up data in 2022-2024 (blood draw, anthropometry, personal interview). We used Bayesian hierarchical regression models (BHM) to examine the independent effects of five highly correlated pesticides with continuous and binary measures of cardiometabolic disease and inflammation. RESULTS: Participants averaged 49.0 (±5.5) years at follow-up. In BHM models, a 10-fold increase in p,p'-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and β-hexacyclohexane (β-HCH) was positively associated with BMI (DDT: adj-β = 1.26, 95 % Credible Interval (CrI): 0.33, 2.20; β-HCH: adj-β = 1.56, 95 %CrI: 0.45, 2.67) and waist circumference (DDT: adj-β = 2.75, 95 %CrI: 0.65, 4.85; β-HCH: adj-β = 3.74, 95 %CrI: 1.24, 6.23). Although credible intervals crossed the null, consistent positive associations were observed for DDT and β-HCH with blood pressure and for DDT with insulin resistance. Trans-nonachlor was positively associated with triglycerides (log-TRIG: adj-β = 0.08, 95 %CrI: 0.02, 0.13). β-HCH was positively associated with inflammatory markers (log-hsCRP: adj-β = 0.11, 95 %CrI: 0.03, 0.19; log-IL-6: adj-β = 0.08, 95 %CrI: 0.03, 0.14). CONCLUSION: With over a decade of follow-up, we extend evidence on previously reported associations of DDT and β-HCH with several measures of obesity. In addition, we provide new evidence suggesting associations with biomarkers of blood pressure, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and inflammation, supporting the hypothesis that exposure may have long-term influences on cardiovascular disease risk.

  PublisherDOI

• Blood transcriptomic associations of epigenetic age in adolescents

  Epigenetics · 2025-05-16 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  across five clocks. The epiTOC2, principal component (PC) PhenoAge, Hannum, PedBE and PC Hannum clocks were associated with differential expression of the highest number of RNAs, exhibiting associations with 22, 8, 5, 3, and 2 transcripts respectively. Generally, biological clocks were associated with differential expression of more genes than chronological clocks, and PC clocks were associated with differential expression of more genes relative to their CpG-trained counterparts. A total of 17 associations in our study were replicated in an independent adult sample (age range: 40-54 years). Our findings support the biological relevance of epigenetic clocks in adolescents and provide direction for selection of epigenetic ageing biomarkers in adolescent research.

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of a Gender-Synchronized Family Planning Intervention on Inequitable Gender Norms in a Cluster Randomized Control Trial Among Husbands of Married Adolescent Girls in Dosso, Niger

  Violence Against Women · 2025-08-11

  articleOpen access

  Gender inequitable norms have severe consequences for safety and health globally. Using data from a four-arm cluster randomized control trial of the Reaching Married Adolescents in Niger (RMA) intervention (2016–2019), this study assesses effects on gender norms among husbands of married adolescent girls ( n = 1,055). Using an adjusted hierarchical difference-in-differences model, we found assignment to the RMA small groups intervention to be associated with a 0.62 decrease in inequitable gender norms (95% CI: −1.05, −0.18). As a cost-effective, scalable, and transferable intervention, this small group intervention could be valuable for reducing the negative impact of inequitable gender norms in similar settings.

  PublisherDOI

• Cumulative Epigenetic Aging From Birth to Young Adulthood and Prospective Associations With Cardiometabolic Health in the CHAMACOS Study

  Journal of the American Heart Association · 2025-09-30 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Epigenetic modifications linked to biological aging, like DNA methylation (DNAm), may serve as biomarkers for future cardiometabolic disease risk. However, existing studies have focused on older adults, overlooking the early-life origins of cardiometabolic health. METHODS: Among 378 participants from the CHAMACOS (Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas) study, we measured DNAm repeatedly from birth to age 18 years to calculate 4 epigenetic aging (EA) biomarkers: Horvath, Skin & Blood, Intrinsic epigenetic age, and DNAm Telomere Length (DNAmTL). We then developed a novel measure of cumulative EA spanning from birth to age 18 years. Using multinomial logistic and multivariable linear regression models, we examined associations between cumulative EA and several indicators of cardiometabolic health at 18 years. RESULTS: We observed an increased risk of obesity with an interquartile range increase in cumulative EA by Horvath (relative risk [RR], 2.61 [95% CI, 1.79-3.80]), Skin & Blood (RR, 2.76 [95% CI, 1.89-4.03]), and Intrinsic epigenetic age (RR, 1.61 [95% CI, 1.11-2.34]), whereas DNAm TL decreased obesity risk (RR, 0.32 [95% CI, 0.22 -0.45]). Similarly, cumulative EA was associated with higher body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage, systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, and resting pulse/heart rate at age 18 years. CONCLUSIONS: Cumulative EA throughout childhood predicts young adult cardiometabolic health and may signal increased risk for later cardiometabolic disease, highlighting the value of life-course epigenetic clocks as biomarkers for early-life health interventions.

  PublisherDOI

• Maternal Acculturation and Child Asthma Trajectories Throughout Adolescence in the CHAMACOS Study

  American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine · 2025-05-01

  articleSenior author

  Abstract RATIONALE: Higher acculturation is associated with greater asthma prevalence and symptom burden among Mexican American children. Acculturation is hypothesized to increase asthma risk through the adoption of behaviors (e.g., increased tobacco use, decreased breastfeeding, dietary changes, sedentary lifestyle) and greater exposure to adverse socio-environmental factors encountered in the U.S. (e.g., urban air pollution, indoor allergens, discrimination). This study investigates the association between maternal acculturation and the prevalence of asthma trajectories of their child throughout adolescence. METHODS: Participants included 645 Mexican American adolescents born in Salinas, California from the CHAMACOS study. Acculturation was assessed by mother's nativity (U.S. born vs not U.S. born), mother's age at arrival in the U.S. (≤ 10 years old, 11-20, and ≥ 21 years old), and language spoken by mother (mostly Spanish vs. mostly English or both Spanish and English). Data on whether the child had ever been diagnosed with asthma, current asthma medication use, and respiratory symptoms in the past 12 months were collected using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaire at ages 10.5, 12, 14, 16, and 18 years. We classified a participant as having “probable asthma” at a given time point if they were currently taking asthma medication or if they had a diagnosis of ever having asthma and current respiratory symptoms. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify asthma trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine associations between acculturation variables and asthma trajectory groups. RESULTS: Most study participants had mothers born outside of the U.S. (89.8%) and who were mostly Spanish-speaking (90.7%). The prevalence of probable asthma between the ages of 10.5 and 18 years ranged from 7.4% to 13.3%. We identified four asthma trajectories: never/infrequent (n=523, 81.1%), early-onset transient (n=50, 7.8%), adolescent-onset (n=23, 3.6%), and persistent (n=49, 7.6%). Having a mother who was born in the U.S. (OR=2.81; 95% CI: 1.00, 7.91), arrived in the U.S. before age 10 (OR=2.78; 95% CI: 1.04, 7.47), or mostly spoke English (OR=5.91; 95% CI: 2.28, 15.28) was associated with increased odds of adolescent-onset asthma of their child. Maternal acculturation was not significantly associated with the prevalence of the other three asthma trajectories. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that higher maternal acculturation was associated with an increased risk of adolescent-onset asthma among Mexican American children. Future research should investigate which acculturated behaviors and exposures among mothers contribute to an increased risk of their child developing asthma during adolescence.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Common and Distinct Influences of Prenatal and Postnatal Early-Life Adversity on Epigenomic Trajectories in Mexican American Children

  NIH · $3.0M · 2022–2027

• Early Adversity Shapes Adolescent Risk Behavior Trajectories in Mexican Americans

  NIH · $3.1M · 2014–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Brenda Eskenazi

  Center for Environmental Health

  125 shared

• Kim G. Harley

  Center for Environmental Health

  57 shared

• Katherine Kogut

  Center for Environmental Health

  57 shared

• Lawrence H. Kushi

  Kaiser Permanente

  50 shared

• Nina Holland

  46 shared

• Robert B. Gunier

  University of California, Berkeley

  42 shared

• Nancy A. Gonzales

  Arizona State University

  41 shared

• Gayle C. Windham

  California Department of Public Health

  38 shared

Labs

• Center for Computational BiologyPI