Kimberly Noble | |
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Occupation | Pediatrician |
Academic background | |
Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Teachers College,Columbia University |
Kimberly G. Noble is an American neuroscientist and pediatrician known for her work in socioeconomic disparities and children's cognitive development. She is Professor of Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College,Columbia University and Director of the Neurocognition,Early Experience and Development (NEED) Lab. [1]
Noble is a Principal Investigator of the Baby's First Years study,which was the first clinical trial to assess the relation between poverty and children's cognitive and emotional development,as well as brain development during the first three years of their lives. [2] Findings from this study have been featured in the New York Times, [3] The Economist, [4] and in Bloomberg News. [5]
Kimberly Noble is from Broomall,Pennsylvania,a suburb in Philadelphia. [6] Noble received her B.A. in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania,and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience,and M.D. in Medicine via a joint program in 2005,also from the University of Pennsylvania. [7] Noble worked with mentor Martha J. Farah,a cognitive neuroscientist and researcher at University of Pennsylvania,on research projects on socioeconomic status and childhood cognitive achievement. [8] [9]
She completed her postdoctoral training at the Sackler Institute of Developmental Psychobiology at Weill Cornell Medical College and she completed her residency work in pediatrics at Colombia University Irving Medical Center and Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian in New York City. [1]
Agencies that have supported Noble's work include the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,the Ford Foundation,the Russell Sage Foundation,the Child Welfare Fund,the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,and the NYC Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity. [10] Some of the grants that have been awarded to Noble and her team include a 2.4 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for her project on socioeconomic disparities in cognitive and neural development in the first three years,and a 7.8 million dollar grant for studying household income and child development in the first three years of life. The Valhalla Charitable Foundation,the Weitz Family Foundation,and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative also granted Noble funding supporting the same study on household income and child development in the first three years of life. [1]
Noble's research program focuses on associations between socioeconomic disparities and cognitive development from infancy to childhood and adolescence. She and her colleagues examine environmental factors that may influence cognitive development with the aim of informing public health interventions to support cognitive development of children growing up in low-income families. [11]
One of her most well-known studies is the Baby's First Years study,which is a randomized control trial aimed to reduce poverty. This study assesses how socioeconomic inequality is related to children's brain development,the time course of emerging disparities (e.g.,how early are socioeconomic disparities in cognition and the brain detected?),what the underlying mediating factors are that explain these links,and in particular how these underlying factors are modifiable. This work is leading our understanding of how socioeconomic disparities influence cognitive,emotional and brain development in children during their first three years of life. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] Noble and colleagues research the impact of unconditional cash transfers on behavioral changes of low-income families in terms of maternal substance use, [17] how maternal stress is linked with lower reports of children's socioemotional and language development, [16] and how cash transfers impact infant brain activity. [15]
Noble also worked on the Building Understanding of Developmental Differences across Years (BUDDY) study,the Baby Behavior,Language,and EEG (BabBLE) study,and the MRI Study of Children's Cognitive and Brain Development. [18] One of her studies examining neuro-cognitive correlates of socioeconomic status in kindergarten children reported differences in activity in the left perisylvian/language system and the prefrontal executive system related to socioeconomic status. [9] Another paper explored family income,parental education and brain structure in children and adolescents and found income to be logarithmically associated with brain surface area,meaning that for lower income families,small differences in income related to large differences in surface area,while for higher income families,small differences in income were related to smaller differences in surface area. [19] Noble's work has helped us to better understand how children's brains develop in relation to their environment,specifically in how neurological development relates to socioeconomic status. Her influential research continues to help aid in public policy decisions and interventions for familial financial support.
Noble was honored by receiving the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest Award (Senior Career) in 2021. [20] She previously received the Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions from the Association for Psychological Science in 2017. [21] Noble is an elected fellow of the Association for Psychological Science. [2]
Other awards and honors include:
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Cognitive disorders (CDs),also known as neurocognitive disorders (NCDs),are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive abilities including learning,memory,perception,and problem solving. Neurocognitive disorders include delirium,mild neurocognitive disorders,and major neurocognitive disorder. They are defined by deficits in cognitive ability that are acquired,typically represent decline,and may have an underlying brain pathology. The DSM-5 defines six key domains of cognitive function:executive function,learning and memory,perceptual-motor function,language,complex attention,and social cognition.
Prenatal development includes the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation. Prenatal development starts with fertilization,in the germinal stage of embryonic development,and continues in fetal development until birth.
Developmental cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary scientific field devoted to understanding psychological processes and their neurological bases in the developing organism. It examines how the mind changes as children grow up,interrelations between that and how the brain is changing,and environmental and biological influences on the developing mind and brain.
Child development involves the biological,psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence. Childhood is divided into 3 stages of life which include early childhood,middle childhood,and late childhood (preadolescence). Early childhood typically ranges from infancy to the age of 6 years old. During this period,development is significant,as many of life's milestones happen during this time period such as first words,learning to crawl,and learning to walk. There is speculation that middle childhood/preadolescence or ages 6–12 are the most crucial years of a child's life. Adolescence is the stage of life that typically starts around the major onset of puberty,with markers such as menarche and spermarche,typically occurring at 12–13 years of age. It has been defined as ages 10 to 19 by the World Health Organization. In the course of development,the individual human progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. It is a continuous process with a predictable sequence,yet has a unique course for every child. It does not progress at the same rate and each stage is affected by the preceding developmental experiences. Because genetic factors and events during prenatal life may strongly influence developmental changes,genetics and prenatal development usually form a part of the study of child development. Related terms include developmental psychology,referring to development throughout the lifespan,and pediatrics,the branch of medicine relating to the care of children.
Socioeconomic status (SES) is an economic and sociological combined total measure of a person's work experience and of an individual's or family's economic access to resources and social position in relation to others. When analyzing a family's SES,the household income,earners' education,and occupation are examined,as well as combined income,whereas for an individual's SES only their own attributes are assessed. Recently,research has revealed a lesser recognized attribute of SES as perceived financial stress,as it defines the "balance between income and necessary expenses". Perceived financial stress can be tested by deciphering whether a person at the end of each month has more than enough,just enough,or not enough money or resources. However,SES is more commonly used to depict an economic difference in society as a whole.
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Annette Karmiloff-Smith CBE FBA FMedSci (1938–2016) was a professorial research fellow at the Developmental Neurocognition Lab at Birkbeck,University of London. Before moving to Birbeck,she was Head of the Neurocognitive Development Unit at Institute of Child Health,University College,London. She was an expert in developmental disorders,with a particular interest in Williams syndrome.
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