Department Highlights
Faculty Highlights
Professor, Richard Lerner, published the first edition of his textbook, Concepts and theories of human development in 1976. In April - fifty years after its initial publication, the fifth edition of the book was published. The book has become the standard for graduate textbooks in developmental theory. Congratulations Rich!
Associate Professor, Sara Johnson, was this year's recipient of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award. Congratulations Sara!
Associate Teaching Professor, Kerri Modry-Mandell, received this year's Graduate Student Council Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution to Graduate Studies. Congratulations Kerri!
Assistant Professor, Emma Armstrong-Carter, received Faculty Research Award (FRAC) for a Summer Faculty Fellowship for her project, "Understanding the Experiences of Children and Adolescents Who Take Care of Family Members at Home." Congratulations Emma!
Assistant Professor, Jordan Jurinsky, was recently invited to deliver an opening keynote and participate as a panelist at the Advancing Access to Psychosocial Interventions for Youth With Substance Use Disorders and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Professor Jurinsky was also award Springboard Research Award 2025 ~ Toward a Stronger Continuum of Care: Constructing the A-REI to Assess Adolescent Recovery Infrastructure in Massachusetts. Congratulations Jordan!
Assistant Professor, Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, has been invited to give an address at the 2027 SRCD Biennial Meeting, to discuss their recent work in the area of "transgender, children, international, attachment." Congratulations Fer! They also were spotlighted in SRCD International Affairs Committee to highlight international researchers and the work they do.
Lecturer, Melinda Macht-Greenberg shared an article in Tufts NOW about a collaboration between the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School and psychiatrists at Tufts Medical Center that provides community-based mental health care to young children where they feel safe. Read full article here.
Teaching Professor, Julie Dobrow shared a webinar recording “Children, Media and Mental Health,” sponsored by the Tufts Alumni Mental Health Alliance (TAMHA). Moderator, Prof. Julie Dobrow and panelists, Amanda Strawhacker, Amanda Sullivan, Alvalyn Dixon-Gardener, and Sam Schwamm took the time to impart their knowledge with us. Recording can be found here.
Research Assistant Professor, Roya Abbasi-Asl, has been selected as one of the 2025-2027 SRCD LEARN Program mentors - a dedicated group of experts guiding early career scholars from Colombia and Ghana in research methodology, scholarly publishing, and peer review.
Teaching Professor, Julie Dobrow, was quoted in the Washington Post. The article is on children’s media, empathy and Mister Rogers’s legacy. Read full story here. Julie also authored a new book, Love and Loss After Wounded Knee. Lead story in The Conversation, read here.
Lecturer, Simone Dufresne, and Affiliated Faculty, Eileen Crehan, recently published a chapter titled, “Context and Coping Skills: A (New) Theoretical Approach to Program Development,” in the book Fostering a Community of Success for Neurodivergent Collegiate Students. The chapter is based on Simone’s dissertation work which she completed at Eliot-Pearson in 2024.
Assistant Professor Demond Hill has been selected to be a Neubauer Faculty Fellow for 2025-2026. The program assists Tufts in hiring exceptional scholars whose work will elevate the University’s academic stature and reputation. Also, Demond was featured in the Faculty Focus - Fall 2025, read full article here.
Assistant Professor, Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, received Tisch Library’s Affordable Course Materials Award. Their syllabus overhaul eliminates costs, reduces barriers for students, and models the principle that knowledge shouldn’t be gated.
Julie Dobrow was awarded the Ruth R. Miller Fellowship at the Massachusetts Historical Society for work on her next book. Congratulations Julie!
Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, Assistant Professor has received the Foundation for Child Development Young Scholars Award. In December, they had the honor of participating as a panelist and expert at a Boston City Council meeting. Also Professor Salinas-Quiroz was SRCD’s LGBT History Month spotlight in October and asked to participate as a senior leader for the “Chat with Leaders” event this month. Congratulations Fernando on these major achievements!
Assistant Professor, Emma Armstrong-Carter, received Springboard Funds for her project, Understanding Children’s Experiences Caregiving for Family in Malden, MA. She also received an early career research award from SRCD. Congratulations Emma!
Emma Armstrong-Carter has been selected for a Small Grant in the amount of $7,500 from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), titled “Children and adolescents who are caregivers for family: Assessing disparities and opportunities in partnership with local schools.” Congratulations Emma!
Professor Christine McWayne and her colleague, Dr. Andres Bustamante (UC Irvine), received a grant of $849,825.00 from the Heising-Simons Foundation for the project entitled, "Building Capacity, Community, and Home-School Connections in Early Childhood Classrooms." The three-year project will evaluate the impact of professional learning for the Santa Ana Unified School District (California) teachers as they co-create culturally inclusive home-to-school practices across their early childhood classrooms. The project represents a replication and extension of the RISE approach developed in collaboration with ABCD Boston Head Start partners over the last 13 years.
Julie Dobrow, Jennifer Burton, and the Robbins House Museum are pleased to announce they have received a $10,000 grant from the Expand Mass Stories initiative from Mass Humanities. Mass Humanities announced grants to 42 cultural non-profits for projects that include exhibits, documentary films, oral histories, and public events. Totaling $751,424, the grants will help reimagine the story of Massachusetts. These funds will support the new Half the History film, "Ellen Garrison: Scenes from the Life of an Activist." Production on this film begins Indigenous People's weekend, shooting on location in Concord, MA. Several Eliot-Pearson students and faculty are participating in this film project.
Richard M. Lerner has been re-appointed to serve on the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life for another five-year term, from March 1, 2023, through March 1, 2028.
Student Highlights
Rosalia Rojas, 4th year doctorate student, was selected to be a member of the 2026 cohort of SRCD's Horowitz Early Career Scholars Program! What an exciting opportunity, congratulations Rosalia!
Rachel Oriuwa, A26, a community health student who has been a former student of Crehan Research Lab, was recently featured in a Tufts NOW article highlighting her work on neurodiverse dating. Read full article here.
Sophomore Gabriela Perez, was recently featured on the cover of Tufts JUMBO magazine. A double major in Child Study and Human Development and Biopsychology She is currently a research coordinator in CSHD where she helps with data collection and organization, and mediates students' transitions from research project planning to execution. To read more about Gabriela, here’s a link to the magazine article: JUMBO https://admissions.tufts.edu/discover-tufts/jumbo-magazine/
LuLu Xu, A26, a BA/BFA student who is a CSHD major, has been accepted into the prestigious and incredibly competitive Television Academy Foundation Internship program in the children's television division.
2026 Award Recipients
Graduate Students
Spencer Deng, GSAS Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education
Matthew Gee, Doctoral Research Practice Integration Award, Robert P. Guertin Student Leadership Award and Inductee Honos Civicus Society 2026
Priya Joyce, Master’s Thesis Research Practice Integration Award
Rumeysa Ozturk, Eliot-Pearson Alumni Award
Marian Woode-Eshun, Master’s Applied Research Practice Integration Award
Undergraduate Students
Lucy Clark, Department of Child Development Prize
Martin Decker, Eliot-Pearson Alumni Award
Samantha Hirianto, Undergraduate Research Practice Integration Award and Phi Beta Kappa
Gabrielle Kruckowski, Audrey Hale Award
Sophia Papadopoulo, Eliot-Pearson Alumni Award
Emily Raman, Donald A. Cowdery Memorial Award
Tristan Silfverskiold, Phi Beta Kappa
Kaylie Wang, Undergraduate Research Practice Integration Award and Benjamin G. Brown Prize