News
Olivia Robertson receives the Human Development and Family Sciences Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching award
Graduate student Olivia Robertson received the 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award for the department, and also was selected as our 2023 Teaching Academy Graduate Teaching Award recipient. Her application has been put forward for consideration for the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching award at the college level. Congratulations Olivia!
Amy Loviska receives Outstanding Master’s Student award in the Human Development and Family Sciences department
Graduate student Amy Loviska received the 2023 Outstanding Master’s Student award and their application has been put forward for consideration at the college level. Congratulations Amy!
Elizabeth Teas receives Outstanding Doctoral Student award in the Human Development and Family Sciences department
Graduate student Elizabeth Teas received the 2023 Outstanding Doctoral Student award and her application has been put forward for consideration at the college level. Congratulations Elizabeth!
Graduate Student Olivia Robertson published in Developmental Review
Olivia’s highly sophisticated theoretical integration: “Developmental pathways linking obesity risk and early puberty: The thrifty phenotype and fetal overnutrition hypotheses” (which was the basis for her MS thesis), published in Developmental Review (which currently has an impact factor of 8.36!), is now available online. Congrats Olivia on this major contribution!
Graduate Students earn Student Travel Awards
Congrats to Nikolina Nonkovic, Li (Hazel) Yu, Olivia Robertson, and Sohee Lee for receiving Behavioral Genetics Association (BGA) Travel awards to present your work at the 2022 BGA annual meeting. Nikolina, Sohee, Hazel, Olivia, and Amy Loviska (for the Research Society on Alcoholism annual meeting) each also were awarded Purdue Graduate Student Government Travel Awards to attend conferences this summer. Congrats all!
BGA attendees from the BDL+ left to right: Kristine Marceau, Olivia RObertson, Sohee Lee, Nikolina Nonkovic, Li (Hazel) Yu, & Valerie Knopik
Dr. Marceau received College of Health and Human Sciences Diversity Equity and Inclusion Small Grant for Colorism Project
The College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) is pleased to announce a call for applications for the HHS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Small Grants Program. The purpose of this program is to facilitate and support research that focuses on underrepresented minority populations or people belonging to stigmatized or minoritize groups and/or that is relevant to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Marceau’s project is titled ““Biological Effects of Colorism in Adolescence: Improving the Measurement of Skin Tone to Assess Associations with Stress Hormone Levels.” Stay tuned for more info!
Dr. Marceau earned Tenure!
The Board of Trustees of Purdue University approved the nomination of the Campus Promotions Committee and the recommendation of the President of the University that she be promoted effective August 15, 2022 to Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies with tenure!
Graduate Student Olivia Robertson’s first paper as first author accepted!
Olivia’s original research “Prenatal programming of developmental trajectories for obesity risk and early pubertal timing” was accepted to a top journal: Developmental Psychology! Congrats Olivia on this major accomplishment!
Graduate Student Amy Loviska selected into the Research Mentorship Program for graduate students in STEM
Amy will have the opportunity to increase their expertise in effective mentoring of undergraduate researchers through the Research Mentorship Development Program. They will work with undergraduate research assistants in the Honors college. Congrats Amy!
Dr. Marceau selected as HHS Faculty Mentoring Fellow
Faculty Mentoring Fellows engage with the College of Health and Human Sciences and the Graduate School to implement a 3-year mentoring improvement process in the advising relationship between faculty and graduate students. This program seeks to recognize strengths and to identify possible opportunities for improvement.
Dr. Marceau awarded Fuller/Scott Award at the 2021 Annual meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association
The Fuller/Scott is to recognize outstanding scientific accomplishments by a member [of the Behavior Genetics Association] who is early in their career. The Fuller and Scott Award honors John L. Fuller and John Paul Scott for their seminal roles in the history of the Association and of the field.
Dr. Marceau awarded Early Career Impact Award
Dr. Marceau was awarded the Early Career Impact Award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences from the Behavior Genetics Association. This award is presented to early career scientists of FABBS member societies during the first 10 years post-PhD and recognizes scientists who have made major contributions to the sciences of mind, brain, and behavior.
Graduate Student Olivia Robertson awarded Best Early Career Abstract
Olivia Robertson was a Best Early Career Abstract awardee at the annual conference for the International Society of Psychoneuroendocrinology for her work examining how associations between perceived stress and hormone levels change across pregnancy. Congrats Olivia on this high honor!
Congrats to our graduates!
Emily Rolan successfully defended her dissertation and graduated with her PhD in May, 2020. Gregor Horvath successfully defended his MS thesis and graduated with is MS in May, 2020. Aura Mishra successfully defended her dissertation and graduated with her PhD in August, 2020. Congratulations, and best of luck in your future endeavors! We will miss you dearly!
Dr. Marceau receives Center for Families Lorene Burkhart Award for Excellence in Research about Families at Purdue University:
The Center for Families at Purdue University awarded Dr. Marceau the Lorene Burkhart Award for Excellence in Research about Families at Purdue University for the publication: “Parenting and prenatal risk as moderators of genetic influences on conduct problems during middle childhood” which was published in Developmental Psychology.
BDL Undergraduate Student, Laura Galles, named 2021 HHS Outstanding Senior
Congrats Laura, we are so proud of you! Watch this video below to hear about her story!
Aura Mishra is selected for HDFS and HHS Outstanding Doctoral Student Award.
The Health and Human Sciences Outstanding Doctoral Graduate Student Award was developed to annually recognize the outstanding Ph.D. student within the College based on research excellence. An annual award of $1000 will be presented to a student who has exhibited outstanding ability in scholarly activities, service to his/her department and to the College, and promise for a productive career in his/her field.
Dr. Marceau and Alishia Elliot receive Center for Families Undergrad Research Enhancement Grant:
The Center for Families at Purdue University awarded Dr. Marceau $500 to extend to Alishia Elliot, an undergraduate research assistant in the BDL, to attend the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence this April (2020). Alishia conducted a novel study showing that mother-child relationship quality was worse when teens used stimulants and mothers had substance use problems; and that father-child relationship quality was worse when teens used hallucinogens and fathers had substance use problems. Congratulations Alishia!
Aura Mishra is selected for Stuckman Award.
The Stuckman excellence in research award was created to honor a doctoral student for her or his accomplishments in research. Congratulations Aura!
BDL in the news:
A recent study from the BDL on on parental knowledge and adolescent substance use was featured on Purdue News. Findings suggest that increasing the consistency of child disclosure may help prevent substance use (which is fairly common knowledge in the literature), but teaching parents to be more responsive to time-specific challenges with adolescents may be more effective than increasing the consistency of parents’ knowledge-building parenting behaviors. In fact, prevention efforts trying to increase the levels and consistency of parents’ monitoring strategies could backfire, at least in terms of adolescent substance use. Check out the full article on the publications page!
Aura Mishra is selected for Purdue’s Leadership in Action Award.
The Leadership in Action award recognizes Purdue faculty, staff and students who have shown exemplary leadership within their respective areas of expertise. Whether it is through excellence in a particular field or demonstrable commitment to the success and development of other leaders, this award acknowledges honorees’ accomplishments and professional contributions. Congratulations Aura!
Dr. Marceau presents initial findings from MCPP at the 4th International Symposium on the Fetal Brain
It is so great to see the results from our hard work collecting data that help us to understand how prenatal experiences may influence child development via changes in which genes are dialed up/down in the placenta, and share our hot-off-the-presses findings with experts in the field.
Aura Mishra receives NIH grant for dissertation work:
Graduate student Aura Mishra received an R36 (DA047563) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to evaluate the role of developmental trajectories of substance use for the association between childhood maltreatment exposures and inter-personal violence in adulthood, and whether genetic risk for substance use strengthens this developmental pathway. This is a phenomenal accomplishment. Congratulations Aura!
Dr. Marceau, Gregor Horvath, Emily Rolan, and Olivia Robertson present research at the Annual Meeting of the Behavior Genetics Association in Stockholm, Sweden:
Graduate students Emily, Gregor, and Olivia each gave a poster presentation at this meeting and Dr. Marceau gave a flash talk. It is exciting to present BDL research internationally!
BDL in the news:
A recent study from the BDL on sleep, cortisol, and BMI during childhood was featured in an article in Endocrine Today. The same study was featured on Purdue News and then covered by WFYI-FM and subsidiary radio programs. We found a strong association of poorer sleep and higher BMI, but this was stable across childhood and not an unfolding process. Surprisingly, changes in sleep at one age did not lead to changes in BMI later in childhood or vice versa. These findings suggest that it is unlikely that poor sleep causes higher BMI – that its more likely that other stable or habitual factors like family routines or caregivers’ regulation of child health habits lead to both better sleep and lower BMI. We also found some evidence that cortisol and BMI are reciprocally associated during middle childhood. This evolving relationship is independent of sleep. Check out the full article on the publications page!
Aura Mishra receives the Human Development and Family Studies Outstanding Teaching Award:
Graduate student Aura Mishra received the 2018-2019 Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award for her excellence in the classroom, particularly with regard to teaching advanced methods. Congratulations Aura!
BDL in the news:
Dr. Marceau was featured as an expert on puberty research by Purdue News. A Special Section on Puberty Study was also featured in several University news releases (Penn State News, Emory News Center) and then subsequently in several publications (e.g., EurekAlert!, ScienceDaily) and blog posts. Dr. Marceau first-authored one and contributed to two additional of the eight total publications.
Emily Rolan receives Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship from the Graduate School:
Graduate student Emily Rolan received the 2019-2020 Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship, which provides support to outstanding Ph.D. candidates in their final year of doctoral degree completion. Congratulations Emily!
BDL in the news:
A recent study from the BDL on puberty and substance use published in Child Development was featured in an article in Purdue News. We found that White adolescent boys experiencing early puberty – as measured by testosterone by not physical characteristics – are at higher risk for substance use than later developing boys. The same pattern was not found for non-White boys. Check out the full article on the publications page!
Emily Rolan receives Outstanding Master’s Student award in the Human Development and Family Studies department and the College of Health and Human Sciences:
Graduate student Emily Rolan received the 2017-2018 Outstanding Master’s Student award at both the department and college levels. The Health and Human Sciences Outstanding Masters Graduate Student Award was developed to annually recognize the outstanding Masters student within the College based on research excellence. An annual award is presented to a student who has exhibited outstanding ability in scholarly activities, service to his/her department and to the College, and promise for a productive career in his/her field. Congratulations Emily!
Aura Mishra receives Alpha Chi Scholarship for dissertation work:
Graduate student Aura Mishra has the distinct honor of receiving the Alpha Chi National Honor Society’s top prize: the Joseph E. Pryor Graduate/Alumni Doctoral Fellowship. Congratulations Aura!
BDL Undergraduate Kayla Stradford receives Summer Stay Scholarship:
The Summer Stay Scholars program is a fantastic program at Purdue that allows undergraduate students to combine coursework with hands-on research experience, and comes with a monetary award to help support the in-depth learning experience. Congratulations Kayla!
Dr. Marceau, Gregor Horvath, Emily Rolan, and Savannah Hottle present research at the Biennial Meeting for the Society for Research on Adolescence:
Graduate students Emily and Gregor each gave an oral presentation, and undergraduate student Savannah presented a poster at this meeting. They all did fantastic jobs, making the BDL proud. Dr. Marceau gave an invited presentation on success in early career funding, and a scientific talk as well.
Dr. Marceau and Savannah Hottle receive Center for Families Undergrad Research Enhancement Grant:
The Center for Families at Purdue University awarded Dr. Marceau $500 to extend to Savannah Hottle, an undergraduate research assistant in the BDL, to attend the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence this April (2018). Savannah will be presenting a poster describing a recent project on which she has been instrumental, which conducts a bibliometrics analysis of the field of puberty research in the past 25 years. Congratulations Savannah!
Dr. Marceau receives AgSEED funding for project:
Adolescent Substance Use: Indiana Community Needs and Education through Extension
Youth who engage in heavy substance use during adolescence are at high risk for continued use, addiction, and mental health problems throughout their lives. The growth in prescription drug misuse and the related trend in heroin use has exacerbated this problem in Indiana and surrounding states. Understanding adolescent substance use in Indiana and the needs of Indiana residents to ameliorate adolescent substance use is important to more effectively educate Indiana residents, especially parents, and prevent adolescent substance use problems. This project will address the major contemporary problem of adolescent substance use in Indiana. Our overarching goal is to facilitate informed decision-making to improve the well-being of Indiana youth and their families. We propose a three-arm Applied Research study, including 1) information gathering, 2) an outreach component: education through Extension, and 3) qualitative community-based participatory research aimed at understanding the prevalence of adolescence substance use and needs of Indiana residents surrounding adolescent substance use prevention and resources. This is a team effort, including faculty from Sociology, Psychological Sciences, Anthropology, and Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue.
Dr. Marceau elected Information Officer for Behavior Genetics Association
Dr. Marceau will be joining the executive committee as information officer for the international Behavior Genetics Association in October, 2018. Her role will be the maintenance and upgrading of the Association website, in close collaboration with the Secretary and Treasurer, and gathering and distributing information regarding the annual meeting, relevant courses, job vacancies, event announcements etc.
BDL Undergraduates Harlie Lane and Olivia Clem are awarded OUR Scholarships
Congrats to Olivia Clem and Harlie Lane for receiving Purdue Office of Undergraduate Research Scholarships (Spring, 2018) for their work in the lab! The OUR scholarship program is designed to recognize undergraduate student engagement in original research, scholarship, or creative work under the guidance of Purdue faculty or approved mentor. We’re looking forward to seeing how their independent research projects take shape this semester!
BDL Undergraduate Rosie Mannin starts Nonprofit
Rosie Mannin, an Undergraduate Research Assistant in the BDL, and two of her friends started a nonprofit character performance company this summer (2017): Courage and Kindness Co., which serves Indianapolis and surrounding communities by enriching children’s lives with magic and wonder to instill a sense of hope during times of crisis. Check out their website! Congratulations Rosie, and thank you!
Gregor Horvath receives Ross Fellowship
Gregor Horvath, BDL’s incoming graduate student, was selected to receive the Ross Fellowship (Fall 2017-Spring 2018), a competitive award within the College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue. Congratulations Gregor!
Dr. Marceau presented research at the annual meeting for the Behavior Genetics Association, in Oslo, Norway (June, 2017).
Her talk was entitled “Genetic, prenatal, postnatal, and endocrine influences on adolescent smoking”. She presented data from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (aka TRAILS, check out the study website: https://www.trails.nl/en/), which is based in the Netherlands. After the conference, she traveled to Groningen, Netherlands to present the same data in a full-length talk at the University Medical Center Groningen, as well as meet with international colleagues/collaborators who run the TRAILS study.