Dr. Jorge Cuartas Receives SRCD's Victoria S. Levin Award
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jorge Cuartas is the recipient of the 2024 Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health.
"I am absolutely thrilled to receive the Levin Award, as it represents not only a significant boost to my career but also a powerful affirmation of my commitment to advancing developmental science to be more rigorous, culturally relevant, and actionable."
Dr. Jorge Cuartas (pictured) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology at New York University and the director of the Catalyzing Action for Resilient Ecologies (CARE) lab. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Development, Learning, and Teaching from Harvard University, an Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, an M.Sc. in Economics from Universidad de los Andes, and a B.Sc. in Economics from Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano.
His research examines the promotion of resilience and positive developmental trajectories across the life course; the developmental consequences and prevention of violence against children; the design, implementation, and evaluation of parenting and early childhood programs and policies; and the intersections between climate change and the science of human development.
"I am ecstatic to honor and carry forward Victoria S. Levin’s legacy of advancing research and practice on young children’s mental health," he said. "This award marks a pivotal moment in my career, enabling me to undertake ambitious research on the intersection of climate change and early childhood development on a global scale."
Dr. Cuartas' work under the Victoria S. Levin Award will assess how early exposure to climate hazards, including excessive heat, atypical precipitation, and air pollution, affects children’s mental health and development across developmental periods, countries, and settings. Additionally, he will explore mechanisms underlying the observed effects and potential risk and protection factors that moderate these associations. Findings from this research will provide timely, novel, and internally and externally valid evidence on how climate change may impact early childhood development, supporting future research, advocacy, and policy to strengthen the early foundations of children's mental health.
His selected mentor for the Victoria S. Levin Award is Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, Amy Johnson McLaughlin Centennial Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.
"SRCD has profoundly shaped my academic journey, providing unwavering support through the SECC Dissertation Award and the Engle Dissertation Grant for Global Early Child Development during my Ph.D., and now the Victoria S. Levin Award as a first-year Assistant Professor at NYU," he reflected. "SRCD’s commitment to advancing research and nurturing emerging scholars has been instrumental in my growth and success."
About the Victoria S. Levin Award
The Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health Research was established to honor and carry forward the focus of Victoria S. Levin’s life's work in scientific research addressing young children’s mental health. Honoring Vicki’s 30 years of distinguished service at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the award’s aim is to heighten the chances of early success in achieving NIH funding for developmentally-informed research that addresses the early foundations of children’s mental health and well-being. The Victoria S. Levin Award is made possible by the donations of hundreds of Vicki’s friends, colleagues, and family members.