News
Sonya V. Troller-Renfree is awarded the Kucharski Early-Career Award from the International Society of Developmental Psychobiology (ISDP)!
Sonya V. Troller-Renfree was awarded the Kucharski Early-Career Award from the International Society of Developmental Psychobiology. This award is given to honor the memory of David Kucharski, a promising young investigator in the field of Developmental Psychobiology. As the winner of this award, Sonya will receive a cash award and will be invited to present at the annual ISDP meeting.
Sonya V. Troller-Renfree, Haleigh Brown, Josué Rico-Picó, and Ji Young Song present at the International Congress of Infant Studies (ICIS) 2026!
From July 7th-9th, our Principal Investigator, Sonya V.
Haleigh Brown is awarded the Provost's Grant at TC and presents at the Provost’s Grant Research Expo!
Haleigh Brown was awarded the Provost's Grant for Conference Presentation & Professional Development at Teachers College. She also presented two posters titled, "Associations between Infant Nutrition and Functional Brain Activity at 12 months" and "Socioeconomic Status and Newborn Brain Development: A Cross-National EEG Investigation in the United States and South Africa" at the Provost’s Grant Research Expo hosted by TC NEXT.
Active Research Projects
Building Understanding of Developmental Differences across Years (BUDDY)
A growing body of research has found socioeconomic disparities in children's language and memory development in early childhood. The BUDDY Study first followed approximately 200 children through the first three years of their life understand how brain function, language, and memory develops during this important period. The second phase of the BUDDY Study will follow these children until age 4.5.
Development of Cognitive Control Strategy Use
Throughout the first decade of life, children become increasingly adept at planning ahead for and complete goals. The ability to manage activational and motivational resources in order to complete a goal is known as Cognitive Control. The Development of Cognitive Control Project aims to understand why children elect to use different cognitive control strategies to prepare for the same goal. To better understand the use of cognitive control strategies, I examine behavioral performance, brain activity (EEG), and executive functioning (a grouping of cognitive skills