Neuroscience of American Indian Resilience and Risk (Neu-AIRR) Lab

Evan White, Ph.D.

Associate Investigator, Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Email: ewhite@laureateinstitute.org | Phone: 918-502-5742
​Curriculum Vita


​Research Approach

Dr. White’s laboratory aims to establish and advance neuroscientific understanding of cultural factors that are protective against poor mental health among American Indians utilizing a strength-based framework. A focus this research is implementing multi-modal neuroscience and psychophysiology with a particular emphasis in electroencephalography/event-related potentials. Our goal is to integrate clinical and cultural neuroscience to identify modifiable factors as candidate treatment targets for mental health intervention and prevention research.  Current research aims:
  1. Establish functional framework for the protective role of cultural engagement against poor mental health outcomes
  2. Identify neuroscientific signatures of cultural protective factors that may enhance culturally informed prevention and intervention efforts.
 
Dr. White’s research is currently funded by the Laureate Institute for Brain Research and National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (K99MD015736: Neuroscientific Exploration of Cultural Protective factors among American Indians).
 
In addition to his work with American Indians. Dr. White is interested in employing translational neuroscience and psychophysiological research (especially even-related potentials) to understand development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. Currently, he is collaborating with investigators at LIBR to examine concurrent EEG-ERP/fMRI indicators of cognitive processing relevant to mental health disorders.


​Research Program Highlights

Main Question
What is the neural instantiation of mental health protection conveyed by cultural engagement among American Indians and how can this inform treatment and prevention of mental disorders?

Approach
We utilize a multi-modal (e.g., Neural, physiological, neuropsychological, behavioral, subjective) investigative framework to characterize the protective role of culture at multiple levels of analysis.
​
Future Directions
Establish a clinical-cultural-neuroscience framework in which mental health intervention and prevention efforts are culturally informed and guided by neuroscience. 

Scientific Background

Dr. White was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is an enrolled member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. He belongs to the Shawnee Chapter of the Native American Church of Oklahoma and the Whiteoak Shawnee Ceremonial Grounds. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Oklahoma State University. He also, completed his master’s and doctoral education in clinical psychology at Oklahoma State University under the mentorship of DeMond M. Grant, Ph.D. His graduate research focused on employing psychophysiological techniques, to test predictions from cognitive models of mood and anxiety disorders. His clinical training was generalist clinical science broadly with an emphasis in adult outpatient treatment of anxiety, mood, and trauma related disorders using evidence based psychotherapy approaches.  He completed his predoctoral clinical internship at the Charleston Consortium (Medical University of South Carolina/ Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center) in Charleston South Carolina working closely with his research preceptor Lisa McTeague, Ph.D.
 
Dr. White joined LIBR in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr. Robin Aupperle. During his fellowship his training focused on using translational neuroimaging methodologies to predict treatment response in mood and anxiety disorders. In July 2020 Dr. White became an Associate Investigator at LIBR; The focus of his work is employing clinical cultural neuroscience to improve mental health outcomes among American Indians. 

Lab Members

Mariah Nacke, B.S.
​(Wichita & Chickasaw)
Research Assistant
Mara Demuth, M.A.
(Mvskoke Nation)
Lab Coordinator

Featured Publications

White, E.J., Grant, D.M., Taylor, D.L., Kraft, J.D., & Frosio, K.E (2020). The influence of state worry on covert selective attention and suppression of threatening distractors: An ERP study. Psychology & Neuroscience, advanced online publication
Stewart, J.L., White, E.J., Kuplicki, R., Akeman, E., Bodurka, J., Cha, Y. H., Feinstein, J. S., Khalsa, S. S., Savitz, J., Victor, T. A., Paulus, M. P., Aupperle, R.L. (2020). Women with major depressive disorder, irrespective of comorbid anxiety, show blunted bilateral frontal responses to win loss anticipation.  Journal of Affective Disorders, 273, 157-166.
Judah, M. R., Shurkova, E., Y., Hager, N. M., White, E. J., Taylor, D. L., Grant, D. M. (2018). The relationship between social anxiety and heartbeat evoked potential amplitude. Biological Psychology, 139, 1-7.
White, E.J., Grant, DM., Taylor, D.L., Frosio, K.E., Judah, M.R., & Mills, A.C. (2018)             Examination of evaluative threat in worry: Insights from the Error-Related Negativity (ERN). Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 282, 40-46
​White, E.J., Kraines, M., Tucker, R.P., Wingate, L.R., Wells. T.T., Grant, D.M. (2017). The effect of rumination, grit, and gratitude on suicidal ideation: A path analysis study. Psychiatry Research, 251, 97-102.
White, E.J., & Grant, D.M. (2017). Electrocortical consequences of image processing: The influence of working memory and worry. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 261, 1-8.

Research Collaborators

DeMond M. Grant, Ph.D.
​Oklahoma State University
Christopher Sege, Ph.D.
​Medical University of South Carolina
Matthew R. Judah, Ph. D.
​University of Arkansas
Danielle L. Taylor, Ph.D.
Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina
Lisa McTeague, Ph.D.
​Medical University of South Carolina