PhD Student and Postdoctoral Fellow OpeningIn a longstanding collaboration between the Moffitt-Caspi Team and the Hariri Lab https://www.haririlab.com/home.html, we are recruiting a new PhD student and a new postdoctoral fellow for fall 2025. We seek trainees who have a specific interest in midlife brain aging, its origins in early life, and its implications for mental and physical health in later life. The research training will be grounded in the ongoing longitudinal Dunedin Study, which has followed a… read more about Currently Recruiting for PhD, Postdoc and Data Manager Opportunities »
Who knew epigenetics could be so much fun? The Kardashians just tested their DunedinPACE! Read more here. read more about The Kardashians just tested their DunedinPACE! »
The study, which appears March 14 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, suggests that targeting disadvantaged neighborhoods for dementia prevention programs and encouraging clinicians to consider a patient’s address could help lower dementia risk. Read more here. read more about Poor Neighborhoods Linked to Elevated Dementia Risk and Faster Brain Aging »
Terrie Moffitt, Nannerl O. Keohane University Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience has received the title Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, commonly known as the MBE. The honor, also bestowed upon many celebrities over the years, was presented to Moffitt by King Charles III at a ceremony in Windsor Castle in recognition of her outstanding scientific achievement and service to the United Kingdom. Established in 1917 by King George V, the MBE is the third highest… read more about Terrie Moffitt Receives Royal Honor From the British Monarchy »
Renate Houts along with Annchen Knodt, Kathy Xie and our research team won 1st prize in the Research Data Visualization Competition at Duke University. The competition theme was “Through Time,” fitting as Duke celebrates its 100th anniversary and also exactly what our longitudinal research does! Read more here. read more about First Prize in Data Visualization Competition: Renate Houts, Annchen Knodt, and Kathy Xie »
You can read more about our key findings on representation of women in science here. The full world ranking is available here. read more about Terrie E. Moffitt is ranked 4 among Top Female Scientists for 2023 »
In this edition of the Everything Epigenetic podcast, Karen Sugden explains the importance of measurement reliability in measuring aging. Listen here. read more about Assessing the reproducibility and integrity of DNA methylation data, with Dr. Karen Sugden »
An essay by Lisa Melton discusses tools for measuring biological aging, including DunedinPACE, and how these could be used in evaluating rejuvenation interventions. See here for the full story. read more about Nature Biotechnology article about measuring aging features DunedinPACE »
Measuring your Biological Age has been extremely popularized because of how highly correlated it is to almost every chronic disease and death. However, the Biological Age of a person is limited in the sense that it is a “historical-based” age, meaning it only captures how quickly you’ve been aging since your inception up until the present moment. Listen here. read more about How Fast are you Aging, Really? with Dr. Terrie Moffitt »
Temi was recognised in the King's Birthday Honours list (2023) and appointed Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). read more about Temi appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) »
Annchen Knodt, David Ireland, and Tracy Melzer launch the NIA-funded Phase 52 Brain Imaging Study in the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. A big thank you to the team at Pacific Radiology!!! read more about Dunedin Brain Imaging Study »
Biologically, we all age. Joints get stiffer, arteries get thinner and eyes and ears just don’t gather information they way they used to. Based on their unparalleled collection of five decades of health data following residents in Dunedin, New Zealand, Duke psychologists Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi have devised a way to measure whether a person is biologically aging one year for every calendar year or at a faster — or slower — pace. Listen here. read more about How fast are you aging? »
This episode of Top of Mind with Julie Rose tackles new ideas about mental illness. It discusses the use of psychedelics, indigenous practices, and also our team’s research findings, in an interview with Terrie Moffitt, among several other guests. Listen here. read more about Thinking differently about mental illness »
Founded in 1780, the Academy honors excellence and convenes leaders to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and advance the public good. This year’s election of 261 new members continues a tradition of recognizing accomplishments and leadership in academia, the arts, industry, public policy, and research. Read more here. read more about Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences »
A lifelong study of 1,000 New Zealanders finds that people who express vaccine hesitancy today had more difficult childhood experiences. The Duke researchers who lead the study said the findings suggest that combating vaccine hesitancy will take more than catchy advertising. Read more here. read more about Does vaccine hesitancy begin with mistrust in childhood? »
The internationally-renowned Dunedin Study celebrates its 50th anniversary this week, marking five decades of research impact around the world. The first Dunedin baby to enter the University of Otago’s Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study was born on 1 April 1972 and over the course of the following year a further 1037 babies became Study members. Read more here and here. Happy 50th Birthday toast! read more about Dunedin Study celebrates 50 years »
In 1923, lead was first added to gasoline to help keep car engines healthy. However, automotive health came at the great expense of our own well-being. A new study calculates that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood stole a collective 824 million IQ points from more than 170 million Americans alive today, about half the population of the United States. Read more here. read more about Lead Exposure in Last Century Shrank IQ Scores of Half of Americans »
Preventing mental disorders in young people might reduce or delay the burden of dementia in older people, according to a new study. Read more here. read more about Mental disorders may increase risk for subsequent dementia »
Measures to quantify changes in the pace of biological aging in response to intervention are needed to evaluate geroprotective interventions for human. Read more here. read more about DunedinPACE, a DNA methylation biomarker of the pace of aging »
This review outlines current debates about the sharing of research data, with a focus on relevance for Aotearoa/New Zealand. Read more here. read more about Understanding the data-sharing debate in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand: a narrative review on the perspectives of funders, publishers/journals, researchers, participants and Māori collectives »
Professors Chuck Nelson and Dan Schwartz received the 2021 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prizes for pushing scientific boundaries within their disciplines to identify opportunities for improving children’s education and lives. Terrie Moffitt chairs the prize jury. Read more here. read more about Recognizing Outstanding Research: 2021 Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prizes »
Terrie Moffitt is the 2022 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Psychology. Read more here. read more about Terrie Moffitt named 2022 Recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Psychology »
Hannah Went explains DunedinPACE and what it does. Read more here. read more about A New Generation of Epigenetic Aging Clock »
2021 is the centennial year of Science News’ publication, so the magazine is posting articles on the last 100 years of research in various scientific disciplines. This one examines the last century of psychology/social science research. Our research on the prevalence of mental disorder and the use of p to summarise mental disorder histories appears in the section titled “Diagnostic Disarray.” It’s in there with Watson, Skinner, Bowlby, Milgram, Zimbardo, Khaneman and Tversky, Franz Boas, Margaret Meade… read more about 2021 is the centennial year of Science News’ publication, so the magazine is posting articles on the last 100 years of research in various scientific disciplines. »
Moffitt served on the panel producing the National Academy of Sciences 10-year research agenda for dementia. As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of… read more about Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America: A Decadal Survey of the Behavioral and Social Sciences »
CrimComics offers a new way to approach criminological theory by engaging students with impactful, highly visual illustrated texts. The July 2021 issue introduces students to developmental and life-course criminological theories, focusing on the works of Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi, Robert Sampson and John Laub, and our ownTerrie Moffitt. Read more read more about Terrie Moffitt Featured in CrimComics Magazine »
Riley weaves important insights about diagnostic practices and mental health research with his own life story. Compelling reading! Read more here. read more about Fascinating article by Alex Riley about the p factor, appearing in Aeon. »
A multidecade study of young adults living in the United Kingdom has found higher rates of mental illness symptoms among those exposed to higher levels of traffic-related air pollutants, particularly nitrogen oxides, during childhood and adolescence. Read more here. read more about 'Childhood Air Pollution Exposure Linked to Poor Mental Health at Age 18' »