Sara Jaffee

Sara Jaffee is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she serves as Director of the Undergraduate Honors Program and Director of Graduate Studies. She leads the Risk & Resilience Lab, focusing on developmental psychopathology, gene-environment interactions, and social policy impacts on child well-being.

• Academic Rank: Professor
• Department: Psychology
• University: University of Pennsylvania
• School: College of Arts & Sciences

Jaffee's research examines how stressful environments interact with genetic vulnerabilities to influence child development, particularly antisocial behavior. Her work combines:

• Longitudinal epidemiological methods
• Genetically-informative designs
• Quasi-experimental approaches

Recent publications highlight trends in violence exposure, intergenerational depression transmission, socioeconomic health impacts, and educational resilience. The lab collaborates with neuroscientists, policy experts, and Philadelphia agencies to address structural determinants of health.

Current advising includes graduate students:

• George Lin (Psychology)
• Samiha Islam (Psychology)

Lab activities focus on:

• Social policy evaluation
• Intergenerational adversity patterns
• Violence impact mitigation strategies