Jennifer Hahn

Jennifer Hahn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of California Merced. Her research focuses on maternal and child health, with a particular emphasis on postpartum depression, breastfeeding practices, nutritional influences on psychological outcomes, and developmental psychobiology. She employs interdisciplinary approaches combining clinical studies, epidemiological analyses, and experimental interventions.

Key research themes include the interplay between stress, nutrition, and mental health across the perinatal period. Her work also explores how prenatal and postnatal environmental factors (e.g., maternal cortisol levels, vitamin D status) influence child development and family dynamics. Notable contributions include large-scale meta-analyses examining cross-national postpartum depression predictors and randomized controlled trials evaluating infant carrier interventions for maternal mental health.

Dr. Hahn has extensively studied human milk composition, its neuroendocrine correlates (e.g., oxytocin), and implications for child temperament and maternal sensitivity. Her recent work addresses the societal impacts of pandemics on infant feeding practices and maternal well-being, with a focus on marginalized populations.

Her research is funded by grants focusing on translational public health interventions, maternal-child nutrition, and evolutionary perspectives in psychopathology. Collaborations span developmental psychology, nutritional epidemiology, and clinical science.