Megan R. Gunnar

Megan R. Gunnar has made seminal contributions to the role of hormonal systems, particularly cortisol levels, on neurobehavioral development and how hormone levels and reactivity are shaped by early life stress and are modulated by parental behavior. She has studied these mechanisms in children developing in low risk contexts, as well as those reared in orphanages and then adopted into families, maltreated children, and in adolescents at risk for behavioral problems. This work has important implications for child-rearing, foster care policies, and the prevention of behavioral disorders in  children and adolescents. The mechanisms revealed by these studies, therefore, contribute to both basic and translational science at the neural and behavioral levels.