Shannon Gillespie

PhD, RN, FAAN

Associate Professor

Phone: 614-292-4589
Email: gillespie.175@osu.edu
Location: 200F Heminger Hall, Columbus, OH 43210

Biography

Dr. Shannon L. Gillespie brings unique perspective and expertise to her research into maternal-infant health. She pairs clinical experience with scientific expertise in translational psychoneuroimmunology, making her one of a handful of scientists working to optimize maternal-infant well-being and prevent maternal and infant morbidity and mortality from this unique perspective. More specifically, Dr. Gillespie’s expertise allows her to both scientifically discover and clinically optimize novel methods for psychoneuroimmune monitoring, transforming our ability to predict and prevent complications among antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum populations.

Dr. Gillespie used her 20 years of experience in various research settings to lead two NIH-funded projects as Principal Investigator, and she has filed two patents on her novel methods. She also provides consultation to teams incorporating psychoneuroimmune monitoring into their work among diverse populations (e.g., AHA SFRN) and is passionate about mentoring students of diverse disciplines and inspiring them to bravely tackle our nation’s most complex problems using their unique skillsets.

This decorated nurse scientist earned her BA in psychology from Ohio University and her MS and PhD in nursing from The Ohio State University. She has won several university, regional and national research honors and was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2024.

Laboratory and study websites

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*Jenkusky, L.M., Warren, B.J., Masciola, R.L., & Gillespie, S.L. (2021). Implementation of the Maternal Mental Health Safety Bundle: Standardizing perinatal depression Gillespie CV 4 screening and response in a federally qualified health center. Women’s Healthcare, 9(2), 48-51.
Rausch, J., Gillespie, S., Orchard, T., Tan, A., & McDaniel, J.C. (2021). Systematic Review of the Effects of Marine-derived Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation on Leptin, Adiponectin and the Leptin-to-Adiponectin Ratio. Nutrition Research, 85, 135- 152. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2020.11.002. PMID: 33482602.
^Nowak, A.L., Anderson, C.M., Mackos, A.R., Neiman, E., Gillespie, S.L. (2020). Stress during pregnancy and epigenetic modifications to offspring DNA: A systematic review of associations and implications for preterm birth. Journal of Perinatal and Neonatal Nursing, 34(2), 134-145. doi: 10.1097/JPN.0000000000000471. PMC7185032.
*Gillespie, S.L., Anderson, C.M., Zhao, S., Tan, Y., Kline, D., Brock, G., Odei, J., O’Brien, E., Sims, M., Lazarus, S.A., Hood, D.B., Williams, K.P., Joseph, J.J. (2019). Allostatic load in the association of depressive symptoms with incident coronary heart disease: The Jackson Heart Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 109, 104369. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.06.020. PMC7232849.
Gillespie, S.L., Hardy, L.R., Anderson, C.M. (2019). Patterns of DNA methylation as an indicator of biological aging: State of the science and future directions in precision health promotion. Nursing Outlook, 67(4), 337-344. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2019.05.006. PMC6679732.
Gillespie, S.L., Cole, S.W., Christian, L.M. (2019). Early adversity and the regulation of gene expression: Implications for prenatal health. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 28, 111-118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.02.005. PMC6897329.
*Cifuentes, P., Reichard, J., Im, W., Smith, S., Colen, C., Giurgescu, C., Williams, K.P., Gillespie, S., Juarez, P.D., Hood, D.B. (2019). Application of the Public Health Exposome Framework to Estimate Phenotypes of Resilience in a Model Ohio AfricanAmerican Women's Cohort. Journal of Urban Health. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s11524-018-00338-w. PMC6430281.
Giurgescu, C., Nowak, A., Gillespie, S., Nolan, T., Anderson, C.M., Ford, J., Hood, D.B., & Williams, K.P. (2019). Neighborhood Environment and DNA Methylation: Implications for Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Journal of Urban Health. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s11524-018-00341-1. PMC6430282.
*Ford, J.L., Anderson, C., Gillespie, S., Giurgescu, C., Nolan, T., Nowak, A., & Williams, K.P. (2019). Social integration and quality of social relationships as protective factors for inflammation in a nationally representative sample of Black women. Journal of Urban Health. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s11524-018-00337-x. PMC6430279.
*Gillespie, S.L. & Anderson, C.M. (2018). Racial discrimination and leukocyte glucocorticoid sensitivity: Implications for birth timing. Social Science and Medicine, 216, 114-123. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.08.010. PMC6188674.
*Gillespie, S.L., Mitchell, A.M., Kowalsky, J.M., & Christian, L.M. (2018). Maternal parity and perinatal cortisol adaptation: The role of pregnancy-specific distress and implications for postpartum mood. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 97, 86-93. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.07.008. PMC6582962.
*#Anderson, C.M., #Gillespie, S.L., Thiele, D.K., Ralph, J.L., & Ohm, J.E. (2018). Effects of maternal vitamin D supplementation on the maternal and infant epigenome. Breastfeeding Medicine, 13(5), 371-380. doi:10.1089/bfm.2017.0231. PMC6004083. Gillespie CV 5 +Wagner, C.L. & Eidelman, A.I. (2018). The impact of vitamin D on the maternal and infant epigenome: The role of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Breastfeeding Medicine, 13(5), 305-306. ~Tan, M.L., Abrams, S.A., & Osborn, D.A. (2020). Vitamin D supplementation for term breastfed infants to prevent vitamin D deficiency and improve bone health. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 12, CD013046. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013046.pub2. PMID: 33305822.
*Gillespie, S.L., Alston, A.D., Christian, L.M., & Salsberry, P.J. (2017). Childhood stress and birth timing among African American women: Cortisol as biological mediator. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.06.009. PMC5550339.
*Gillespie, S.L., Neal, J.L., Christian, L.M., Szalacha, L.A., McCarthy, D.O., & Salsberry, P.J. (2017). Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Polymorphism and Birth Timing: Pathway Analysis among African American Women. Nursing Research, 66(2), 95-104. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000200. PMC5334774.
*Christian, L.M., Mitchell, A.M., Gillespie, S.L., & Palettas, M. (2016). Serum brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) across pregnancy and postpartum: Associations with race, depressive symptoms, and low birth weight. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 74, 69-76. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.08.025. PMC5166606.
*Gillespie, S.L. & Christian, L.M. (2016). Body mass index (BMI) as a measure of obesity: Racial differences in predictive value for health parameters during pregnancy. Journal of Women’s Health, 25 (12), 1210-1218. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2016.5761. PMID27487272. +Chambliss, L.R. (2016). Body mass index as a measure of obesity: Racial differences in predictive value for health parameters during pregnancy. Journal of Women’s Health, 25 (12), 1198. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2016.6184.
*Gillespie, S.L., Porter, K., & Christian, L.M. (2016). Adaptation of the inflammatory immune response across pregnancy and postpartum in Black and White women. Journal of Reproductive Immunology, 114, 27-31. doi: 10.1016/j.jri.2016.02.001. PMC4808619. ~Parikh, N.I., Gonzalez, J.M., Anderson, C.A.M., Judd, S.E., Rexrode, K.M., Hlatky, M.A., Gunderson, E.P., Stuart, J.J., Vaidya, D., American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; and the Stroke Council. (2021). Adverse pregnancy outcomes and cardiovascular disease risk: Unique opportunities for cardiovascular disease prevention in women: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000961. PMID: 33779213.
Gillespie, S.L., Christian, L.M., & Neal, J.L. (2015). A proposed bio-panel to predict risk for spontaneous preterm birth among African American women. Medical Hypotheses, 85, 558-564. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2015.07.026. PMC4661115.
*Neal, J.L., Lamp, J.M., Lowe, N.K., Gillespie, S.L., Sinnott, L.T., & McCarthy, D.O. (2015). Differences in inflammatory markers between nulliparous women admitted to hospitals in pre-active versus active labor. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 212, 68.e1-68.e8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2014.07.050. PMC4275404.
*Neal, J.L., Lamp, J.M., Buck, J.S., Lowe, N.K., Gillespie, S.L., & Ryan, S.L. (2014). Outcomes of nulliparous women with spontaneous labor onset admitted to hospitals in preactive versus active labor. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 59(1), 28-34. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12160. PMC4104945.

*Seed Grant (Gillespie PI) 6/1/18 – 5/31/21 SLEEP and Methylation of Maternal DNA in Preterm Birth (SLEEP-MOM) Funder: Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) Role: PI (5% effort without cost) Total Award: $10,000
*K23NR017902 (Gillespie PI) 7/20/18 – 6/30/21 Maternal Immune Responsiveness as Clinical Target for Preterm Birth Prevention (MIRACL) Funder: National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Role: PI (75% effort) Total Award: $422,996
*Administrative Supplement (Gillespie PI) 7/1/20 – 6/30/21 Maternal Immune Responsiveness as Clinical Target for Preterm Birth Prevention (MIRACL) Funder: NIH/NINR Role: PI (0% effort) Total Requested: $53,986
*Heilbrunn Nurse Scholar Award 7/1/20 – 6/30/22 Transcriptional Profiling in the Prediction & Prevention of Preterm Birth (TRANSCRIPT-PTB) Funder: Rockefeller University Role: PI (5% effort without cost) Total Award: $25,000
Innovation Studio 4/16/21 – 4/15/22 Clinical Immunomonitoring Kit: From Bench to Bedside Funder: CON, OSU Role: Team Lead (0% effort) Total Award: $250
*Nursing Research Grant (Gillespie PI) 9/1/16 – 8/31/18 DNA methylation markers of preterm birth risk among asymptomatic African American women Funder: American Nurses Foundation (ANF) and Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science (CANS) Role: PI (5% effort without cost) Total Award: $10,000
*15th Anniversary Nurse Scientist Research Grant 10/1/16 – 3/31/18 DNA methylation markers of preterm birth risk among asymptomatic African American women Funder: CANS/Organizational Partners Role: PI (5% effort without cost) Total Award: $15,000
*F31 National Research Service Award (F31NR014605) 8/16/13 – 12/31/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: NIH/NINR Role: Pre-doctoral fellow (Dissertation) Total Award: $85,901
*Research Scholarship 1/1/15 – 12/31/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), Epsilon Chapter Role: PI (Dissertation) Total Award: $500
*Novice Researcher Award 6/1/13 – 11/30/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Role: PI (Dissertation) Total Award: $5,000
Graduate Research Grant 6/1/13 – 11/15/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: Coca-Cola/Department of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies, OSU Role: PI (Dissertation) Total Award: $1,000
Graduate Research Grant 6/1/13 – 11/15/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI), OSU Role: PI (Dissertation) Total Award: $500
Alumni Grant for Grad Research and Scholarship 3/15/13 – 6/15/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: Graduate School, OSU Role: PI (Dissertation) Total Award: $2,000
*Dissertation Award 5/1/13 – 4/30/15 Pathways to Shortened Gestation among Black Women Funder: Midwest Nursing Research Society (MNRS) Role: PI (Dissertation) Total Award: $2,500

Shannon Gillespie

Biography

Laboratory and study websites

Publications

Honors

Professional society memberships

Funded research grants