Aprile Benner

Aprile Benner is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Human Ecology. Her work focuses on how social contexts influence marginalized youth’s development, particularly regarding racial/ethnic discrimination, school transitions, and health disparities. She holds appointments at the Population Research Center and Center on Aging and Population Sciences.

Education:

• Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
• M.S., Purdue University
• B.S., Vanderbilt University

Research Interests: Benner investigates developmental processes for low-income and racially/ethnically diverse youth. Key areas include:

• Racial/ethnic discrimination’s physiological and psychological impacts
• Numeric marginalization in schools and neighborhoods
• Biopsychosocial pathways linking discrimination to health outcomes
• Adolescent transitions during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic

Grants (selected):

• $750K+ NIH grant studying discrimination’s biological effects (2017-2023)
• COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on youth well-being (Spencer Foundation)
• Meta-analyses on school-based marginalization and academic achievement

Awards: Recognized as a William T. Grant Scholar (2013), APS Fellow (2020), and UT Austin’s top graduate teacher (2019).

Advising & Labs: Leads the Mosaic Lab, mentoring 14+ graduate students. Advises on 7 current doctoral projects focusing on discrimination measurement and intervention design.