Children and Families

Education

  • Leslie Babinski, associate research professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy; director, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. Babinski is a licensed psychologist who studies children and adolescents and professional development for teachers. (919) 613-9296; Leslie.babinski@duke.edu
  • Harris Cooper, professor emeritus of Psychology & Neuroscience. Researches the value of homework, making the most of summer school, the value of after-school programs and the impact of school calendars and calendar variations on students and their families. (919) 660-5664; cooperh@duke.edu
  • Sarah Komisarow, assistant professor of public policy and economics; core faculty, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. Her research focuses on policy interventions for disadvantaged high school students, including the effects of household cash transfers on persistence in high school and the effects of academic and family support services on academic achievement, high school graduation and post-secondary enrollment. She is also interested in the causes and consequences of educational inequality. (919) 613-9298; sarah.komisarow@duke.edu
  • Helen Ladd, professor emeritus of public policy and economics. Specializes in charter schools, school-based accountability, market-based reforms, parental choice and competition, teacher quality, student achievement.helen.ladd@duke.edu 
  • Clara G. Muschkin, associate research professor of public policy; core faculty, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy; director, Child Policy Research Certificate Program; faculty director, North Carolina Education Research Data Center. Muschkin studies education policy, school structure and student outcomes, including the impact of early childhood education on academic outcomes, impact of grade retention on student behavior, and consequences of high school reform practices. (919) 613-9302; muschkin@duke.edu
  • Kristen R. Stephens, assistant professor of the practice of education. Specializes in gifted-child education, teacher training; can discuss Race to the Top/No Child Left Behind. (919) 660-3083; kstephen@duke.edu

Mental Health; Substance Abuse

  • E. Jane Costello, an epidemiologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is associate director of research, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. She studies the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the development of mental health problems and substance abuse problems in children and adolescents. (919) 613-9335; elizabeth.costello@duke.edu; jcostell@psych.duhs.duke.edu

Poverty and Well-Being

  • Anna Gassman-Pines, associate Professor of public policy and of psychology and neuroscience in the Sanford School of Public Policy; core faculty, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. Gassman-Pines is a psychologist whose research focuses on low-wage work, family life and the effects of welfare and employment policy on child and maternal well-being in low-income families. (919) 613-7301; agassman.pines@duke.edu
  • Robin Gurwitch, instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. ​Gurwitch studies the impact of trauma and disasters on children and co-authored the book “When Their Worlds Fall Apart.” (919) 419-3474, (405) 659-9513 (cell); Robin.gurwitch@duke.edu
  • Kathryn Whetten, professor of public policy and global health. Her work focuses on the understanding of health disparities in the U.S. and around the globe. She is an expert on orphans and orphanages who directs the Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research in the Duke Global Health Institute. (919) 613-5470; k.whetten@duke.edu

Parenting

  • Jennifer Lansford, research professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy and affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy. She is an expert on child and adolescent development, aggression, parenting, culture, peer relationships, and child maltreatment. (217) 722-0965; lansford@duke.edu

Poverty and Families

  • Christina M. Gibson-Davis, professor of public policy, sociology; core faculty, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy; director, undergraduate studies in the Sanford School of Public Policy. Gibson-Davis’ research interests center around social and economic differences in family formation patterns. Her current research focuses on the how divergent patterns of family formation affect economic inequality. (919) 613-7364; cgibson@duke.edu
  • Lisa Gennetian, professor of early learning policy studies; core faculty, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy. Gennetian is an applied economist whose research straddles a variety of areas concerning child poverty from income security and stability to early care and education with a particular lens toward identifying causal mechanisms underlying how child poverty shapes children’s development. (919) 613-9341; lisa.gennetian@duke.edu