The Center for Developmental Science (CDS) requests continued support for five predoctoral (two-year program) and five postdoctoral (two-year program) positions associated with its vibrant and accomplished training program, the Carolina Consortium on Human Development (CCHD; T32-HD007376). Located in the rich intellectual environment of central North Carolina, the program brings together a world-class faculty who come from four major research universities (UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina State University, and UNC-Greensboro) and who span psychology, neuroscience, public health, nursing, education, psychiatry, sociology, public policy, and methodology. The 47 faculty mentors include leaders in the study of children's and adolescent's health and well-being with a strong record of research productivity, grant funding, and training. The program is based on the premise that training in Developmental Science provides a vitally important transdisciplinary model and an associated language for understanding a broad array of health outcomes (e.g., health-risk behaviors, obesity, self-regulation, resilience to early trauma and stress, cognitive functioning). Core principles of Developmental Science now permeate all major perspectives on health and well-being. These principles include, for example, the study of developmental processes (a) as occurring through multilevel, interacting causal fields ranging from culture to biology; (b) as embedded in temporal patterns across levels of analysis as reflected in the study of transitions, trajectories and plasticity; and (c) as incluing on-going bidirectional influences across levels of analysis. The CCHD program is distinctive in its focus on the articulation of these principles and their operationalization in empirical health research. The resulting structured-yet-flexible program is uniquely designed to provide training in core competency areas as well as individually tailored domains. In addition to common elements (i.e., the CCHD proseminar series, research apprenticeships with faculty mentors, and professional and research skill development workshops), trainees select from an extensive menu of tailored experiences that are specific to their training goals as identified through an Individualized Development Plan. We continue to monitor and refine our training program through an extensive evaluation process that involves trainees, mentors, and a national Advisory Board. A total of 54 predoctoral and 29 postdoctoral trainees participated in the program during the last reporting period. The trainees have obtained excellent academic and research positions, have published actively in the research literature, and have shown early success in obtaining grant funding. This track record confirms the effectiveness of the program. The over-arching goal of the CCHD is to give a foundation in Developmental Science to the next generation of scholars as they prepare for innovative and productive research careers. Our trainees speak the language of sophisticated transdisciplinary teams that have the power to transform the scientific study of the origins, natural history, and consequences of health.
The Carolina Consortium on Human Development is an inter-institutional, transdisciplinary training program for predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars. The program provides training in the principles of Developmental Science as applied to a broad array of children's health and well-being outcomes. Trainees are equipped to function in transdisciplinary teams and to engage in high-impact research of vital national concern about social and physical environments, programs, policies, and practices that are important to the health and well-being of children, youth, and families.
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