Jessica A. Stern

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Jessica A. Stern October 2018 CURRICULUM VITAE JESSICA A. STERN University of Maryland Department of Psychology College Park, MD 20742 805-798-0690 [email protected] EDUCATION 2014 – 2019 Ph.D. (expected), Developmental Psychology University of Maryland College Park, Dept. of Psychology Dissertation: Empathy across development: Integration across contexts and levels of analysis Advisor: Jude Cassidy, Ph.D. 2016 M.S., Developmental Psychology University of Maryland College Park, Dept. of Psychology Thesis: Empathy in parents and children: Links to preschoolers’ attachment and aggression Advisor: Jude Cassidy, Ph.D. 2008 – 2012 B.A., Psychology, summa cum laude Pomona College, Dept. of Psychology Thesis (with honors): Assessing parental empathy: A role for empathy in child attachment Advisors: Jessica Borelli, Ph.D. & Patricia Smiley, Ph.D. GRANTS & RESEARCH SUPPORT 2018 – 2019 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Dissertation Funding Award ($2,000) Project: “Enhancing security in the classroom to boost student empathy and helping” SRCD Student and Early Career Council 2018 – 2019 Dean’s Research Initiative Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant Award ($1,060) Project: “Enhancing security in the classroom to boost student empathy” College of Behavioral & Social Sciences, University of Maryland 2018 – 2019 Dean’s Research Initiative – Seed Project Grant (co-applicant with Jude Cassidy, PI; $5,875) Project: “Do teachers-in-training associate black boys with threat?: An experimental priming study to examine and shift threat bias, attributions, and behavior” College of Behavioral & Social Sciences, University of Maryland 2018 Dean’s Fellowship, University of Maryland Graduate School ($2,500) 2018 Psychology Merit Travel Award, Dept. of Psychology, University of Maryland ($500) 2018 Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Award, University of Maryland Graduate School ($800) 2017 Jacob K. Goldhaber International Travel Award, University of Maryland Graduate School ($1,200) 2017 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Student Travel Award ($300) 2017 International Conference Student Support Award, University of Maryland Graduate School ($180) 2015 – 2018 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) Fellowship Project: “‘I know how you feel’: Toward an intergenerational model of empathy and aggression in middle childhood” 2015 – 2018 Janet W. Johnson Fund Travel Awards: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 (total funds: $5,000) Dept. of Psychology/ Developmental Area, University of Maryland 2015 – 2016 Developmental Science Workshop Grant ($1,000) Co-applicant with B. E. Brett, J. T. Gross, & D. R. Martin; Faculty sponsor: Jude Cassidy Workshop title: “Roots of compassion: From basic science to practice” Graduate Field Committee in Developmental Science, University of Maryland 1 J. Stern CV Oct 2018 2014 – 2019 Flagship Fellowship, University of Maryland Graduate School ($50,000) 2014 – 2015 Dean’s Fellowship, University of Maryland Graduate School ($2,500) 2010 Summer Undergraduate Research Project Grant, Pomona College ($1,000) Project: “Assessing parental empathy: The development of a new measure” AWARDS & HONORS • Milton Dean Havron Social Sciences Award, University of Maryland, 2018 • Honors on the Developmental Area Comprehensive Examination, Department of Psychology, Developmental Area, University of Maryland, 2017 • Psychology Prize, Department of Psychology, Pomona College, 2012 • Distinction in the Senior Exercise, Department of Psychology, Pomona College, 2012 • Pomona College Scholar Distinction, Pomona College, 2008 – 2012 RESEARCH EXPERIENCE 2014 – 2019 Graduate Research Assistant, Maryland Child & Family Development Lab Dept. of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD Roles & responsibilities: Data manager (2015-2019); Training and mentorship of undergraduate and graduate Research Assistants (5–8 students/semester); Grant writing collaboration for applications to NIMH, NICHD, NSF, Spencer Foundation, W. T. Grant Foundation Projects (Jude Cassidy, PI): • Circle of Security–Parenting RCT – Collected, coded, and analyzed behavioral and questionnaire data for an attachment-based parenting intervention with low-SES mothers and children in Baltimore Head Starts (Beier et al., 2018; Cassidy et al., 2017) • Preschool Project – Co-designed and coordinated study of parenting, attachment, empathy, and prosocial behavior in parents and preschool-aged children (Stern et al., in prep) • Priming & Empathy Studies – Collected and analyzed data for 2 experiments examining effects of attachment priming to enhance empathy/altruism in adults (Cassidy et al., 2016) • Priming & Caregiving Studies – Co-designed and coordinated 3 experiments examining effects of attachment priming on adults’ implicit attitudes toward children • Priming & Racial Bias Studies – Co-designed and coordinated 2 experiments examining potential effects of security priming to reduce implicit racial bias in adults; co-authored grant to extend this research in 3 additional experiments examining cognitive processes underlying racial bias among teachers-in-training and potential ways to mitigate bias • MPower and Circle of Security in the Classroom Grants – Collaborated on grant writing, literature review, and initial planning for two school-based intervention projects to enhance social-emotional learning and academic outcomes among children in underserved urban preschools in the Washington, DC and Baltimore public school systems • Middle School Study – Designed and coordinated SRCD-funded, school-based experimental study of 8th-graders’ social relationships and empathy in bullying contexts 2012 – 2014 Professional Research Assistant, JFK Partners Autism Clinic Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Aurora, CO Project: Facing Your Fears dissemination study (Judy Reaven, PI) – Coordinated data sharing, data management, and fidelity coding for an NIH-funded, international multi-site dissemination study of a family-based CBT intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder and anxiety (Hepburn et al., 2014; Reaven et al., 2014, 2015; Stern et al., 2014) 2012 – 2014 Project Coordinator, National Research Center, Inc., Boulder, CO; Selected projects: • Denver Metro Urban Advantage Middle School Efficacy Study – Assisted with data analysis, report writing, and dissemination of results for NSF-funded efficacy study of school–community partnerships to improve STEM learning in urban middle schoolers • Colorado Prevention Partnership for Success evaluation – Conducted quantitative and qualitative data analysis for a statewide health survey of parents and teens 2 J. Stern CV Oct 2018 • Youth Outcome Toolkit – Co-designed surveys to assess efficacy of youth after-school programs for local communities • Community Assessment Survey for Older Adults – Assisted with item development and re-design of community survey to assess needs, health, and wellbeing of ageing adults • National Citizen Survey – Coordinated data collection, analysis, report writing, and presentation design for various large-scale citizen surveys for local governments 2010 – 2012 Research Assistant, Child Attachment, Relationships, & Emotion (CARE) Lab Dept. of Psychology, Pomona College, Claremont, CA; Projects: • Child Attachment Study (Jessica Borelli, PI) – Collected physiological (RSA, SC), neuroendocrine (cortisol), interview, and questionnaire data from parents and 8- to 12- year-old children for study of attachment and emotion in middle childhood; developed coding system for scoring parent empathy from clinical interviews (Stern et al., 2015) • Puzzle Study (Patricia Smiley, PI) – Collected data using cognitive tasks, physiological recording, and questionnaires for study of cognition and motivation in school-aged children 2011 Twins Early Development Study Intern, Anna Freud Centre, London, UK Project: Twins Early Development Study (Robert Plomin, PI) – Conducted home interviews with parents of adolescents for longitudinal study of genetic and environmental contributions to child attachment, psychopathology, and academic achievement 2009 – 2010 Research Assistant, Pomona College/UC Davis Perception & Cognition Lab Dept. of Psychology, Pomona College, Claremont, CA (in collaboration with the Center for Mind & Brain, University of California Davis) Project: Time Perception Study (William Banks, PI) – Collected data for study of adult time perception and cognition using the Libet paradigm (Isham et al., 2011) 2004 – 2006 Intern, Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, Ojai, CA Project: Food for Thought children’s nutrition survey – Conducted focus groups with elementary and middle school children; wrote reports for Ojai Valley News PUBLICATIONS Stern, J. A., Botdorf, M., Cassidy, J., & Riggins, T. (in press). Empathy and hippocampal volume in young children [Special issue]. Developmental Psychology. Ehrlich, K B., Stern, J. A., Eccles, J. S., Dinh, J. V., Hopper, E. A., Kemeny, M. E., Adam, E. K., & Cassidy, J. (in press). A preliminary investigation of attachment style and inflammation in African American young adults [Special issue]. Attachment & Human Development. Beier, J. S., Gross, J. T., Brett, B. E., Stern, J. A., Martin, D. R., & Cassidy, J. (2018). Helping, sharing, and comforting in young children: Links to individual differences in attachment. Child Development, Advance online publication. Stern, J. A., Fraley, R. C., Jones, J. D., Gross, J. T., Shaver, P. R., & Cassidy, J. (2018). Developmental processes across the first two years of parenthood: Stability
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