The Science of Learning, Behavior, and Health:
Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do

October 2, 2007 - Harvard Graduate School of Education
Location: Askwith Lecture Hall in Longfellow Hall, Appian Way, Cambridge
Time: 5:30-7:30 pm

Scientists have long struggled to explain the inextricably intertwined processes of social, emotional and cognitive development in ways that the public can understand—and in ways that connect child development to public policy. Don’t bother, say some child advocates and pollsters, as they argue that it does not require an understanding of the science of development to support child-oriented policies. In this first lecture in the Center on the Developing Child’s new colloquium series, FrameWorks Institute researchers Susan Nall Bales and Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. took on the conventional wisdom and demonstrated the contribution that research-based communications can make to public thinking and policy support.

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Speakers
Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., Senior Fellow, FrameWorks Institute; Professor of Political Science and Associate Vice Chancellor, UCLA
Susan Nall Bales, President, FrameWorks Institute

Discussants
Jack P. Shonkoff, Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development, Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Director of the Center on the Developing Child
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Introduction by
Kathleen McCartney, Dean and Gerald S. Lesser Professor in Early Childhood Development,
Harvard Graduate School of Education

The Science of Child Development: A New Lens for Public Health

November 14, 2007 - Harvard School of Public Health
Location: François-Xavier Bagnoud Bldg, Rm G-13, 651 Huntington Avenue, Boston
Time: 3:30-5:30 pm

This lecture provided an overview of the integrated science of early childhood development, incorporating neuroscience, genetics, molecular biology, behavioral and developmental research, and four decades of program evaluation. Particular attention was focused on understanding causal mechanisms that explain the association between early life adversity related to poverty, discrimination, and maltreatment, and lifelong impairments in physical and mental health.

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December 5, 2007 - Harvard Kennedy School
Location: Starr Auditorium, Belfer Building (2nd floor)
79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge 
Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

This presentation began with an overview of the science of early childhood development and intervention, including its underlying neurobiology. These comments were followed by reflections on the challenges of translating scientific knowledge for policymakers and the experiences of two state legislators leading efforts to promote evidence-based policies to promote the healthy development of vulnerable, young children.

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Speakers
Jack P. Shonkoff, Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development, Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Director of the Center on the Developing Child
Representative Ruth Kagi (D-WA), Chair of the House Children and Family Services Committee, and principal sponsor of the Washington State Early Learning Act
Senator Wes Hayes, Jr., (R-SC), Chair of the South Carolina Senate Ethics Committee

Discussant
Mary Jo Bane, Dean and Thornton Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy and Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government

What’s Best for Children?
How Judges Use Neuroscience to Break the Cycle of Child Maltreatment

February 12, 2008 - Harvard Law School  
Location: Classroom 101, Pound Hall (1st floor), 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
Time: 3:30-5:30 pm

This presentation began with an overview of the science of early childhood brain development with particular attention to the short-and long-term impacts of toxic stress related to child abuse and neglect, parental substance abuse, maternal depression, and exposure to violence. These comments were followed by reflections on how science has been used in the courtroom to inform difficult decisions in child welfare cases.

Additional reading/DVD featuring Judge Lederman and Dr. Shonkoff >>
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Speakers
Charles A. Nelson III, Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research, Children's Hospital Boston Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health 
Cindy Lederman, Presiding Judge, Miami-Dade County Juvenile Court

Panel
Elizabeth Bartholet, Morris Wasserstein Professor of Law, Director, Child Advocacy Program, Harvard Law School
Martha Minow, Jeremiah Smith, Jr. Professor of Law at Harvard Law School;
Lecturer, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Senior Fellow, Harvard Society of Fellows
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr., Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, and Founding and Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice

Moderator
Jack P. Shonkoff, Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development, Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Director of the Center on the Developing Child

Neuroscience and Human Capital Formation:
Economic Development Meets the Science of Early Childhood

March 10, 2008 - Harvard Business School
Location: Hawes Hall, Classroom 201, Soldiers Field Road, Allston
Time: 3:30-5:30 pm

This lecture discussed how the science of early childhood development and four decades of program evaluation research can inform investment strategies focused on the early childhood roots of human capital. Particular attention was focused on benefit-cost data on the relative return on investment in early childhood education for vulnerable children compared to conventional economic development policies such as tax incentives for business relocation.

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Speakers
Arthur J. Rolnick, Senior Vice President and Director of Research,
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Charles Kolb, President of the Committee for Economic Development

Moderator
Jack P. Shonkoff, Julius B. Richmond FAMRI Professor of Child Health and Development, Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Director of the Center on the Developing Child

The Childhood Roots of Adult Disease:
Exploring the Biology & Psychology of Early Life Stress

April 15, 2008 - Children’s Hospital Boston
Location: Enders Auditorium, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston
Time: 4:00 - 6:00pm

This session presented a multidisciplinary perspective on the investigation of causal mechanisms that explain differences in health status associated with early childhood adversity. Particular attention was focused on collaborative research conducted under the auspices of the Center on the Developing Child.

Speakers
Takao Hensch, Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology, Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Neurology, Children’s Hospital Boston

Laura Kubzansky, Associate Professor of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health

Charles A. Nelson, III, Professor of Pediatrics and Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Research Director, Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Children’s Hospital Boston

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