Megan R. Gunnar, Regents Professor and Director, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota

Professor Gunnar has spent her career studying how infants and young children respond to potentially stressful situations.  With her students, she has documented the powerful role that relationships play in regulating stress physiology in young children and the impact early neglect and deprivation have on brain and behavioral development. Professor Gunnar recently received lifetime achievement awards from the American Psychological Association and the Society for Child Development. She is also active in groups that translate developmental science for use by the public and policy makers, including the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child housed at Harvard University.

Her talk is titled “The protective role of relationships in stress regulation and brain development.”