Megan R. Gunnar

Megan R. Gunnar is a Regents Professor and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota's Institute of Child Development, where she has pioneered research on stress biology and child development since joining the faculty in 1979. She is a member of the University of Minnesota’s Distinguished Academy of Teachers and maintains active research leadership despite phasing into retirement.

Her educational journey includes a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Stanford University (1978) and a post-doctoral fellowship in Psychoneuroendocrinology at Stanford Medical School. This foundation enabled her groundbreaking investigations into neuroendocrine stress regulation across developmental stages.

Professor Gunnar's research centers on how attachment relationships buffer stress hormone activity in children, the diminished effectiveness of parental buffering during adolescence linked to pubertal maturation rather than chronological age, and the atypical stress reactivity patterns in children adopted from institutional care. Her lab innovatively examines puberty as a critical period for recalibrating stress systems in youth with early adversity histories, utilizing paradigms like the Trier Social Stress Test and neuroimaging to explore brain-stress interactions.

Her recent publications reveal consistent themes in developmental stress biology, particularly the dynamic interplay between pubertal development and stress recalibration mechanisms. Key trends include longitudinal analyses of cortisol-DHEA coupling, social buffering efficacy across developmental stages, and neuroimmune alterations following early adversity, with increasing methodological sophistication in online stress testing and neural imaging.

Her exceptional contributions are recognized through:

• Election to the National Academy of Sciences
• Fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Membership in the National Academy of Education
• Lifetime Achievement Awards from APA, SRCD, APS, and ISPNE
• Prestigious Mentoring Awards from APS and ISDP

Professor Gunnar actively bridges research and practice through board service at Think Small, Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, and Minnesota's Children’s Cabinet, plus co-founding Harvard's National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Her Gunnar Laboratory for Developmental Psychobiology Research continues mentoring junior scientists while exploring future directions in stress recalibration during puberty and translational applications for vulnerable youth.