Duke Psychology and Neuroscience Professor Terrie Moffitt has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, a leading organization providing advice on health, science and technology.
Moffitt studies many of the pressing issues impacting American policy and society, including the interaction between genes and the environment, causes of certain abnormal behaviors, slowing down the aging process, the study of neighborhood conditions and their effect on health and behavior, and the impact of long-term cannabis usage on IQ.
Moffitt came to Duke in 2009 with her husband and co-author, Avshalom Caspi. Caspi describes their research as "a telescope looking at multiple constellations rather than one specific research question."
As the associate director of the Dunedin Longitudinal Study--a long term observational study where data is gathered from the same subjects periodically--Moffitt follows 1,037 babies born in Dunedin, New Zealand from 1972 to the present. She attempts to find answers to what makes us who we are. For her research, Moffitt has received the Distinguished Career Award in Clinical Child Psychology (2006) and Stockholm Prize in Criminology (2007). She has also been recognized in the top one percent of most referenced studies in her field by Thomson Reuters (2014) and named one of the top 10 criminologists in the world by Nova Science Publishers (2012).
“This well-deserved honor points to the wide-ranging impact of Temi’s work– on clinical diagnoses, on national policy, and even on the law,” said Duke P&N Chair Scott Huettel. “She is not only a world-class scientist, but also an amazing mentor who cares deeply about training the next generation of scholars. We are proud of all her accomplishments and delighted that she’s been recognized with election to the National Academy.”
Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
