Alexa McDorman

2nd year grad students are no longer eligible to apply. Currently enrolled grad students must be in their first year, whether in a MS, BS-MS, or Ph.D.

Engage in policy work in bold new ways with SRCD.

SRCD is building the nation’s go-to hub for trusted, evidence-based insight on child development, and we want you to be a part of it. https://www.srcd.org/child-policy-hub

🎓 FLUX is proud to spotlight Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova.

Her research focuses on understanding how children's early language experiences shape their brain, cognitive, and socio-emotional development.

Read about her journey, motivations, and advice for other young scientists:
👉 buff.ly/19APuWX

Mine (human development) were all co-authored by my advisor and others, although I did 99% of the original writing, specifically, because it did feel weird to have someone else write portions of my dissertation. I included title pages with the list of authors for all three.

I am so excited to moderate this symposium at #flux2025. Please join us Saturday, 3pm in Hyde 1.

Across 4 methods & stages (direct neural recording, EEG, fNIRS, fMRI | mice, babies, toddlers & adolescents) we'll explore whether neural synchrony represents a developmental mechanism. Please join us!

Picture of Dana Miller Cotto with captioned text.

I’ve spent the last 15 years thinking about math skills that set kids up for success at school entry. Now, I’m excited to dive into new work on how math is conceived in California’s universal transitional kindergarten (UTK) funded through the Barbara White Bequest @berkeleyeducation.bsky.social

Note on the common fund website confirming cancellation of the Early Independence award for FY2026

commonfund.nih.gov/earlyindepen...

Scientists make 'superfood' that could save honeybees We rely on honeybees to pollinate our crops and a new food could protect them from growing threats.

Bee news 🐝🍯🧪:

Scientists have developed a honeybee "superfood" that could protect the animals against the threats of climate change & habitat loss.

Bee colonies that ate the supplement during trials had up to 15 times more baby bees that grew to adulthood.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The updated version of the database of PhD fellowships produced and maintained by my team can be downloaded by anyone here:

research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

For each of the 187 fellowships, you will find a short description, deadline, $ amount, link, etc.

Good luck!

In a second, we form expectations about the likely traits and behaviors of people we meet. How does this ability develop? How do others’ perceived gender factor into it?

I’m thrilled to share a new paper now in press at Cognition with @andreicimpian.bsky.social and‪ @lucaspbutler.bsky.social.
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We are looking to hire a new post-bac MRI tech! Great opportunity pre grad school! umd.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UMCP/job/Uni...

Why research is not enough

I wrote for Columbia University Press: I would like to say that whether to engage with the public is a career choice reasonably left to the individual scholar. In today’s world, I don’t think so. Everyone needs to find a way to express how our work matters. cupblog.org/2025/07/10/w...

Another Education Department delay: release of NAEP science scores But administration relents on yanking data from researchers

NAEP science scores planned for release in June are now delayed, in the wake of Education Department cuts, via @hechingerreport.org @jillbarshay.bsky.social: hechingerreport.org/proof-points...

🚨Hiring for a postdoc in HCI, LS, & EdPsych!🚨 Looking for a postdoc to join my lab tomonag.org as a Humboldt Research Fellow (www.humboldt-foundation.de/en/apply/spo...). This fellowship is unique and comes with many benefits. Please see more details and apply by July 25! tomonag.org/wp-content/u...

A meta-analytic review of child maltreatment and interoception Nature Mental Health - Interoception, the perception of internal bodily signals, is crucial for mental and physical well-being, yet the origins of disruptions in interoception are not well...

My first dissertation paper is out in Nature Mental Health! 🤩

With colleagues from @tudresden.bsky.social and @freieuniversitaet.bsky.social, we conducted a meta-analysis on the link between childhood trauma and interoception — our ability to sense internal bodily signals.

rdcu.be/eu8bo

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Alert! ... for the child development world!

@fluxsociety.bsky.social @fitngin.bsky.social ‪

The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study has released its first data wave - it’s massive.

Check here:
docs.hbcdstudy.org

and here:
nbdc-datahub.org

Here’s why it matters 🧠🍼

Call for Manuscript Proposals! Special Issue on Intergroup Allyship in Current Directions @sylviapperry.bsky.social

Submissions due July 18: www.psychologicalscience.org/publications...

@angelicaalonso.bsky.social, @rachelromeo.bsky.social, and I wrote one of the top 10 papers (by citations) published in Child Development Perspectives in 2023! 🎉✨ How parent-child brain-to-brain synchrony can inform the study of child development: doi.org/10.1111/cdep...

Will the University That Survives Have Been Worth Saving? Budgeting philosophies need to put people first.

Budgets reveal what universities are really about & what they truly value. As universities decide how to survive, will their budgets put people first? chroni.cl/4jsXQF3

Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo presents her work on dyadic social dynamics

Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo presents her work on dyadic social dynamics

Thanks @joscelinrocha.com for inspiring/guiding us on #fnirshyper methods! 🧠 🔦 @umdleadlab.bsky.social

😂

Can we start May over again I wasn’t ready

Looking forward to sharing our work in today's symposium, entitled "Asian American Child and Youth Development: Contexts, Processes, and Outcomes" at #SRCD2025 #SRCD25 with Yoko Yamamoto, Tianlu Zhang, and Hua (Elaine) Luo

Thrilled to present our work at #PAS2025 and really enjoyed this interdisciplinary experience! Effective program implementation is critical for reaching families and making a higher impact.

Harvard Medical researcher sues NIH for cutting grant to study LGBTQ mental health "This is not just an attack on the LGBTQ community — it is a blow to the integrity of science and the health of every American," a Harvard Medical School associate professor studying the mental…

⛔ NIH ended ALL of my grants mid-project, given LGBTQ health focus 🏳️‍🌈

⚖️ So what am I doing? Suing RFK, Jr.

As one team member shared in this story👇: "The threats to our work don’t just make me fear for my career — they make me fear for my safety.“

#SaveDemocracy #SupportScience #PublicHealth

LSC member @rachelromeo.bsky.social received the Graduate Mentor of the Year Award, awarded by the UMD Graduate School! Congratulations Rachel 🥳

Want to level up your computational neuroscience skills? 🧠💻
Apply for this hands-on course by EITN & @ebrains.bsky.social featuring lectures, tutorials & project work - from cells to whole-brain models!
📍 Marseille, France
🗓️ 19–28 Nov 2025

Deadline: 4 Jun
buff.ly/8U4tgSf

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Inhibitory control development from infancy to early childhood: A longitudinal fNIRS study The developmental period from infancy to early childhood is one of substantial change – in advancements in cognitive skills, such as early executive f…

NEW PAPER! I am really so excited the share this brand new paper led by @abifiske.bsky.social. Despite pandemic challenges, we assessed inhibitory control and its neural substrate (using fNIRS) from 10 months to 3.5 years in more than 100 children. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🧪 NSF GRFP update!

New graduate NSF fellowships will likely be announced this week for the GRFP (see bottom of 🧵 for why).

First off, I'm *very* glad to hear of those going forward, given the otherwise bleak year so far for graduate training.

Some observations... 1/12