Aleeca Bell

Interests

Research

My clinical experience as a Certified Nurse Midwife drives my bio-behavioral research questions. My program of research strives to improve the wellbeing of mothers and infants by promoting physiologic birth, a positive birth experience, healthy mother-infant interaction, and an increased understanding of underlying biologic mechanisms. The oxytocin system is a biological metaphor for feeling safe and cared for; and can be a target of innovative interventions and evidence-based practice to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable women and infants in the perinatal period. I am currently funded with an R01 grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research to conduct a four-year randomized clinical trial targeting mothers with a history of childhood adversity to promote mother-infant synchrony. Synchrony is when the actions of one affects the actions of the other in a coordinated manner that is mutually rewarding, and promotes bonding and infant development. To improve synchrony, we are testing a low cost, early life, multisensory behavioral intervention that is easy for mothers to learn and apply with their infant. We are also determining whether the intervention improves epigenetic regulation of the oxytocin system, since oxytocin function facilitates engaged social interaction (e.g., bonding, empathy, positive affect) and is highly susceptible to early life adversity. Future studies will investigate 1) the implementation of clinicians teaching the intervention to mothers at multiple sites, and 2) expanding the intervention to additional vulnerable populations, such as women with depression or who suffered a traumatic birth experience.

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Journals/Publications

• MacLean, E. L., Carranza, E., Gnanadesikan, G. E., King, K. M., Allen, A. M., Linde-Krieger, L. B., Feldman, R., White-Traut, R. C., Hammock, E. A., Carter, C. S., Leng, G., Tecot, S. R., & Bell, A. F. (2024). Neurophysin I is an analytically robust surrogate biomarker for oxytocin. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 161, 106951.
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  Oxytocin is a pleiotropic neuropeptide that plays roles in biological processes ranging from birth, lactation, and social bonding to immune function, cardiovascular repair, and regulation of appetite. Although measurements of endogenous oxytocin concentrations have been performed for more than 50 years, the ability to measure oxytocin accurately poses notable challenges. One potential solution for overcoming these challenges involves measurement of oxytocin's carrier molecule - neurophysin I (NP-1) - as a surrogate biomarker. NP-1 is secreted in equimolar concentrations with oxytocin but has a longer half-life, circulates in higher concentrations, and can be measured using a sandwich immunoassay. We report experiments that 1) analytically validate a commercially available NP-1 sandwich immunoassay for use with human plasma and urine samples, 2) confirm the specificity of this assay, based on detection of NP-1 in plasma from wild-type but not oxytocin knockout mice, 3) demonstrate that NP-1 concentrations are markedly elevated in late pregnancy, consistent with studies showing substantial increases in plasma oxytocin throughout gestation, and 4) establish strong correlation between NP-1 and plasma oxytocin concentrations when oxytocin is measured in extracted (but not non-extracted) plasma. The NP-1 assay used in this study has strong analytical properties, does not require time-intensive extraction protocols, and the assay itself can be completed in
• Grisham, L. M., Rankin, L., Maurer, J. A., Gephart, S. M., & Bell, A. F. (2023). Scoping Review of Biological and Behavioral Effects of Babywearing on Mothers and Infants. Journal of obstetric, gynecologic, and neonatal nursing : JOGNN, 52(3), 191-201.
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  To synthesize the evidence on the biological and behavioral effects of babywearing on mothers and infants.
• Weinstein, S. R., Erickson, E. N., Molina, R., & Bell, A. F. (2023). Maternal outcomes related to Genetic and epigenetic Variation in the oxytocin system: A scoping review. Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology, 16, 100209.
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  In this scoping review, we synthesize the literature on oxytocin and oxytocin receptor genetic and epigenetic variation in relationship to breastfeeding, maternal caregiving behavior, and maternal mental health.

Presentations

• Bell, A. (2024, January). Utitled. Building From Within Conference. University of Arizona, Tucson: Scientific Hub for Empowering Research on female health Advancement (SHERA) Initiative.
• Bell, A. (2024, May). Lessons learned from my first NIH funded R01. Midwifery Research & Quality Exchange. virtual podium: American College of Nurse-Midwives Division of Research.

Poster Presentations

• Bell, A., Bedrick, E., Carter, C. S., Feldman, R., MacLean, E., Tecot, S., & White-Traut, R. (2024, May). An NIH-funded R01 RCT With Mother-Infant Dyads, Birth Data and Repeated Perinatal Biobehavioral Measures. Midwifery Research & Quality Exchange. Virtual: American College of Nurse-Midwives Division of Research.
• Boyles, S., & Bell, A. (2024, April). Parenting Stress and a Multisensory Infant Massage: A Secondary Analysis.. Western Institute of Nursing’s 57th Annual Nursing Research Conference. Salt Lake City, UT: Western Institute of Nursing.