For the first time since it opened its doors in 2020, the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) has welcomed visiting international scholars to foster collaboration and spark ideas for future research.
The world-renowned researchers include Grete Dyb, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine within the University of Oslo and Head of Research at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, and John-Anker Zwart, Professor of Neurology at the University of Oslo and Head of Research at the Division of Clinical Neuroscience within Oslo University Hospital.
For Dyb, who studies post-traumatic stress responses in children, the semester-long visit is an opportunity to study about human responses to adversity from the United States’ leading resilience institute.
“I have spent most of my career in clinical practice and research, helping children and adolescents cope with traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress symptoms,” Dyb said. “Striving to recover from post-traumatic stress symptoms after trauma is a long process, and for children and young survivors, it is crucial to regain the ability to function well despite the adversity. I am so excited to be here in Colorado Springs and UCCS to learn more about resilience processes from the dedicated researchers affiliated to the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience.”
For Zwart, whose research and clinical practice have long focused on chronic pain, the visit is an opportunity to examine the processes of coping with — and healing from — pain.
“My main research focus has for many years been on headache and musculoskeletal pain, encompassing epidemiological, clinical and genetic studies that includes comorbidity with other phenotypes like depression, anxiety and PTSD,” Zwart said. “I am very excited to learn more about how researchers affiliated with the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience understand healing processes, especially for patients living with chronic pain.”
Dyb and Zwart are married and have collaborated on research projects for decades. They are currently on sabbatical leave from their positions at the University of Oslo, and will spend January–June 2022 researching at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience.
Grete Dyb is a Professor at the Faculty of Medicine within the University of Oslo and Head of Research at the Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies in Oslo, Norway. She is a trained specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry and worked clinically in inpatient and outpatient units at the University Hospital in Trondheim, Norway, before she defended her Ph.D. thesis on PTSD in children. She has been the principal investigator of numerous studies on childhood trauma and PTSD in children and adolescents and served as teacher and supervisor of bachelor, master, Ph.D. and post-doctoral students for three decades. She is past president of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, and served on the ISTSS’ Board of Directors for six years. For the last 12 years, she has served as co-chair and chair on regional and national committees on medical and health research ethics.
After the terror attack in Norway in 2011, Dyb initiated the Utøya Study, a longitudinal interview study of youth survivors of the terror attack and their parents. The study now comprises data from four data waves over the 10-year period. The research has resulted in more than 60 papers published in peer-reviewed international and national journals. The study assesses levels of post-traumatic stress reactions, anxiety and depression, somatic complaints and sleep problems over time, and aims to provide more knowledge on important factors for resilience and healing.
She is excited to learn from the dedicated researchers affiliated with the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience and share her knowledge from over 30 years of clinical and research experience.
John-Anker Zwart is a Professor of Neurology at the University of Oslo and Head of Research at the Division of Clinical Neuroscience within Oslo University Hospital. He is a trained specialist in neurology and has practiced clinically for over 30 years. In his early career, Zwart focused on pain research and initiated the Head HUNT study and musculoskeletal pain HUNT study as part of the large-scale HUNT study, an epidemiological study of 90,000 Norwegians. His research on headache and musculoskeletal pain also includes studies on comorbidity with depression, anxiety and PTSD. During the last decade, Zwart has focused on translational research within the pain field and has initiated several large multicenter studies investigating novel treatment strategies. He is currently the national coordinating principal investigator of several large multicenter trials. He is involved in numerous clinical and epidemiological studies and consortia as well as projects within health economics, translational medicine and genetics. He has served as teacher and supervisor of bachelor, master, Ph.D and post-doctoral students for three decades. His academic record includes 220 publications in international journals.
Zwart is excited to learn more about how researchers affiliated with the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience understand healing processes, especially for patients living with chronic pain, and share his understandings and experiences with the teams.
About the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at UCCS
The Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience at UCCS is a research institute focused on advancing human resilience to adversity by designing evidence-based solutions through interdisciplinary research, healing therapies, and community training and empowerment. Through scientific discovery and strength-based innovation, the Institute empowers individuals and communities to build resilience and heal from trauma. Learn more about the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience on the UCCS website.