EVAN WHITE

Our 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 of 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.

Current research aims:

Establish functional framework for the protective role of cultural engagement against poor mental health outcomes
Identify neuroscientific signatures of cultural protective factors that may enhance culturally informed prevention and intervention efforts

Dr. White’s research has received extramural funding from National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (R00MD015736), National Institute of General Medical Sciences (5P20GM121312-04, 8737; PI: Paulus) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (R25DA050645, PIs: Whitesell & Sarche).

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.

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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 grounded 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 2022, Dr. White became a Principal Investigator at LIBR and Director of Native American Research and the Electroencephalography Core. The focus of his work is employing clinical cultural neuroscience to improve mental health outcomes among American Indians.