Julius B. Richmond Fellowships
Among the core goals of the Center on the Developing Child is the creation of a new generation of leaders who view the promotion of healthy child development broadly. The Julius B. Richmond Fellowships help the Center to achieve that goal by bringing students from across the University to the Center to engage in ongoing research within an interdisciplinary community and to strengthen University-wide communications and collaboration in the area of child development. Including the awardees for the 2012-13 academic year, a total of 21 fellows have been named since the program’s inaugural year in 2007-08.
- About the Fellowship & Application Requirements >>
- Current Fellows >>
- About Julius B. Richmond >>
- Past Fellows >>
- Frequently Asked Questions >>
About the Fellowship & Application Requirements
This one-year fellowship provides students with a $10,000 stipend in support of independent research that aligns with the broader mission of the Center. All Harvard University doctoral students from the biological and social sciences as well as the professional schools are eligible to apply.
During the fellowship, students create a work plan for the year, deliver a seminar presentation, attend workshops, and attend Center-sponsored events. Each Richmond fellow is asked to identify a faculty mentor whose responsibilities include attending the seminar session and identifying other faculty members who can provide feedback that augments the mentor’s expertise. There is an expectation that significant progress will be made on the fellow’s research during the fellowship year; specific benchmarks will be determined individually with input from the faculty mentor.
Candidates should have excellent academic records and defined research interests in child health, learning, and development. Priority will be given to candidates whose work crosses disciplinary boundaries and has implications for social policy.
Applications for the academic year 2013-14 will be due on December 14, 2012.
2012-13 Richmond Fellows
During the 2012-13 academic year, the Center will help fund the research of three Harvard students:
Anjali Adukia is a sixth-year doctoral student studying the economics of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Quantitative Policy Analysis in Education program. Her primary interests concern improving access to education in developing countries, particularly at the intersection of education and health. Her current work examines the impact of addressing basic needs, such as sanitation on education and health outcomes in rural schools in India.
Madeleine deBlois is a fourth-year doctoral student in the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her research interests focus on the social determinants of child and adolescent health and development. Madeleine is interested in the diverse and interactive ways that communities, neighborhoods, families, schools, and out-of-school-time programs contribute to child well-being. Her doctoral research examines children’s self-regulation from a social-epidemiological perspective.
Claire Houston is a second-year doctoral student (S.J.D. candidate) at Harvard Law School. Her research focuses on feminist legal reform projects in the area of family law. She is especially interested in the impact such projects have on children's interests. Claire is a qualified lawyer in Ontario, Canada, and represented children in family law disputes prior to pursuing graduate studies.
2011-12 Richmond Fellows
During the 2011-12 academic year, the Center funded the research of three Harvard students:
Todd Grindal is a 5th year doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he studies the impact of public policies on young children and children with disabilities. His dissertation research is focused on the unionization of home child care providers and its impact on early education policy and practice. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, he worked for six years as a teacher and school administrator at the preschool and elementary levels. Photo by Severin Photography
Sarah Hope Lincoln is a 4th year clinical psychology doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She is interested in developmental psychopathology, specifically the neurobiological mechanisms underlying severe mental illness in children and adolescents. Her research is focused on elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying social cognitive deficits that may relate to impairment in social functioning in children, adolescents, and young adults at risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Photo by Severin Photography
Andrew Thorne-Lyman is a 4th year doctoral student in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is interested in the potential of nutritional interventions during pregnancy and early childhood to improve neonatal and infant health and developmental outcomes. His doctoral research explores the effects of vitamin D and calcium on maternal and child health outcomes, including preterm delivery, preeclampsia, and infant growth and mortality in Tanzania and Denmark.
Read Andrew's article, Improving Child Survival Through Vitamin A Supplementation, recently published in the British Medical Journal. Download PDF >>
Photos of Todd Grindal and Sarah Hope Lincoln by Severin Photography. Photo of Andrew Thorne-Lyman by Suzanne Camarata Photography.
Past Fellows
Learn more about the research interests of previous classes of Julius B. Richmond fellows.
Read more >>
HPSH Features Research of Former Richmond Fellow Erin Dunn
A recent news feature, titled "Searching for Answers to Causes of Childhood Depression," from the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) describes a recent review of studies led by Erin Dunn, a former Julius B. Richmond Fellow at the Center and a current postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dunn’s review sought to shed light on how genetic and environmental factors combine to influence the development of childhood depression. Her co-authors included Center-affiliated faculty member Jordan W. Smoller, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and MGH.
Read the HSPH news feature >>
About Julius B. Richmond
The Richmond Fellowship is named for Julius B. Richmond who, until his death in 2008, was the John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy Emeritus in the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School. As a pioneer in public health and development in early childhood, Dr. Richmond was the first National Director of Head Start in the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson and served as Surgeon General in the Carter administration, where he was instrumental in leading the first public health campaign against the tobacco companies. Dr. Richmond cherished the fact that the Fellowship was established in his name. Since his death, the Center has renewed its dedication to promoting the professional development of young scientists. Read the Harvard School of Public Health obituary for Julius B. Richmond.
