Alexa McDorman

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

:(

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

Welcome to the LEAD Lab @ UMD! Located in the Benjamin Building and led by Dr. Rachel Romeo, we study how kid's early experiences shape brain development, language & learning! Using interactive games and non invasive brain imaging, we study how minds grow and develop!

#LEADLab #UMD #neuroscience

Hey! Are you an American considering a PhD or a postdoc, and the funding / academic situation just went absolutely bonkers?

Canada's federal funding awards just added eligibility for international applicants if at Cdn institutions.

www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/NewsDetail-D...

2 by 2 grid of the same framed print of a anatomical human heart. Top left is the original pink, blue, green heart on black in a pink frame. 3 others are shown under pink light, purple light, and teal light.

Happy Valentine's Day to all the scientists and educators and people committed to knowledge and critical thinking skills 💗🫶👩‍🔬🧑‍🏫🧑‍⚕️

#sciart

A wayback machine screengrab of the National Parks Service website for Stonewall that reads "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person was illegal."

A screengrab of the current National Parks Service website for Stonewall that reads "Before the 1960s, almost everything about living openly as a lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB) person was illegal."

National Parks Service Stonewall page on the Wayback machine vs right now. They wrote trans folks out of Stonewall.

Now do the same for the postdoc ones: K01, K99, and F99. My postdocs grant is still “unassigned”.

AERA and COPAFS Statement on the New Administration’s Sudden Termination of National Center for Education Statistics Contracts AERA and COPAFS Statement on the New Administration’s Sudden Termination of National Center for Education Statistics Contracts

AERA and COPAFS have issued a statement on the sudden termination of 169 contracts within IES, including those that NCES holds for the collection and reporting of education statistics. Read the full statement: www.aera.net/Newsroom/AER...

Yi Ting Huang (left) and Charlotte Vaughn (right)

LSC Director Yi Ting Huang and @langscistation.bsky.social Director Charlotte Vaughn will receive the Maryland Research Excellence Award on March 27th for “demonstrably elevating the visibility and reputation of the University of Maryland Research Enterprise.” Congratulations 🎉

Opinion | I’m a health researcher. NIH’s pause on research grants could have a devastating cost. This is a potentially devastating event — not just for the scientific community, but for all Americans.

An explainer about how health research funding happens and why this NIH funding cycle shutdown matters: www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

👀 new paper alert! Over the last few years I have read & thought - a lot - too much!? - about whether/how neural synchrony (measured by #fNIRS) ⚙️mechanistically⚙️ supports child development. So E. Redcay and @rachelromeo.bsky.social and I wrote about what we know - and what we don’t. 🧠🔦 ⚡️ 🧠🔦 🧵 1/7