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Psychological Sciences

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Kathryn L. Humphreys

Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology and Human Development
Investigator, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center; Training Faculty, Vanderbilt Brain Institute

Dr. Kathryn Humphreys is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Chancellor Faculty Fellow at Vanderbilt University. She has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and expertise in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental neuroscience. Her research program includes both basic and applied work, and she has published nearly 200 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on child development, adversity, and caregiving. Dr. Humphreys has received several awards, including the NSF CAREER Award, the NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (NIMH BRAINS) award, the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science, and the Boyd McCandless Award from the American Psychological Association.

Lab Website

Representative Publications

  • Niu, Y., Conrad, B. N., Camacho, M. C., Ravi, S., Piersiak, H. A., Bailes, L. G., Barnett, W., Manhard, M. K., Cole, D. A., Clayton, E. W., Osmundson, S. S., Smith, S. A., Kujawa, A., & Humphreys, K. L. (2025). Longitudinal investigation of neurobiological changes across pregnancy. Communications Biology, 8, 82. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.08.584178.
  • Weng, Z., Bravo-Sanchez, L., Wang, Z., Howard, C., Xenochristou, M., Meister, N., Kanazawa, A., Milstein, A., Bergelson, E., Humphreys, K. L., Sanders, L. M., & Yeung-Levy, S. (2025). Artificial intelligence powered-3D analysis of video-based caregiver–child interactions. Science Advances, 11, eadp4422. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adp4422.
  • Blum, A. L., Hill, K. E., & Humphreys, K. L. (2024). Words matter: The influence of prenatal care visits on expecting parents. Zero to Three Journal. https://www.zerotothree.org/resource/journal/words-matter-the-influence-of-prenatal-care-experiences-on-expecting-parents/
  • Humphreys, K. L., Garon-Bissonnette, J., Hill, K. E., Bailes, L. G., Barnett, W., & Hare, M. M. (2024). Caregiving relationships are a cornerstone of developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 36, 2218-2231. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579424000300
  • Humphreys, K. L. & Kujawa, A. (2024). Child-rearing skills might not be innate. Nature, 632, 739. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02710-0 
  • Leve, L. D., Kanamori, M., Humphreys, K. L., Jaffee, S. R., Nusslock, R., Oro, V., & Hyde, L. W. (2024). The promise and challenges of integrating biological sciences and prevention science: A community-engaged model for the next generation of translational research. Prevention Science, 25, 1177-1199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-024-01720-8
  • King, L. S., Guyon-Harris, K. L., Valadez, E. A., Radulescu, A., Fox, N. A., Nelson, C. A., Zeanah, C. H., & Humphreys, K. L. (2023). A comprehensive multi-level analysis of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project: Causal effects on recovery from severe deprivation. American Journal of Psychiatry, 180, 573-583. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220672
  • King, L. S., Hill, K. E., Rangel, E., Gotlib, I. H., & Humphreys, K. L. (2023). Teaching or learning from baby: Inducing explicit parenting goals influences caregiver intrusiveness. Developmental Psychology, 59, 1951-1961. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001592
  • Malachowski, L., Salo, V. C., Needham, A. W., & Humphreys, K. L. (2023). Infant placement and language exposure in daily life. Infant and Child Development, 32, e2405. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2405
  • Barnett, W., Hansen, C. L., Bailes, L. G., & Humphreys, K. L. (2022). Caregiver–child proximity as a dimension of early experience. Development and Psychopathology, 34, 647-665. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579421001644
  • Humphreys, K. L., King, L. S., Guyon-Harris, K. L., Sheridan, M. A., McLaughlin, K. A., Radulescu, A., Nelson, C. A., Fox, N. A., & Zeanah, C. H. (2022). Foster care leads to sustained cognitive gains following severe early deprivation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119, e2119318119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2119318119
  • Humphreys, K. L., King, L. S., Guyon-Harris, K. L., & Zeanah, C. H. (2022). Caregiver regulation: A modifiable target promoting resilience to early adverse experiences. Psychological Trauma, 14, S63-S71. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001111

Honors

Selected

  • 2024, Chancellor Faculty Fellow

  • 2023, Early Career Impact Award, Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences

  • 2022, Boyd McCandless Award, American Psychological Association

  • 2023, Chancellor’s Award for Research, Vanderbilt University

  • 2023, Randolph Blake Early Career Award, Psychological Sciences, Vanderbilt University

  • 2022, NIMH BRAINS Award 

  • 2021, David Kucharski Young Investigator Award, International Society for Developmental Psychobiology
  • 2021, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Emerging Leadership Award in Research, ZERO TO THREE
  • 2020, John and Polly Sparks Young Investigator Award, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
  • 2020, Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
  • 2020, Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, Association for Psychological Science
  • 2020, Chaim and Bela Danieli Early Career Award, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
  • 2018–2020, Jacobs Foundation Early Career Research Fellow