معرفی
Kalsea Koss is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at the University of Georgia’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding how social environments and biological systems interact to shape mental health outcomes in children and adolescents, particularly under conditions of adversity. She holds a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Notre Dame (2012), an M.A. from the same institution (2009), and a B.S. in Human Development and Family Science and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2006).
Dr. Koss’s work examines stress biology, epigenetics, and developmental psychopathology, with a focus on early adversity’s impact on health trajectories. Her research spans diverse stressors (e.g., family conflict, harsh parenting, poverty) and protective factors (e.g., family cohesion, parental vigilance). She has investigated biological mechanisms such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and telomere length to understand how adversity ‘gets under the skin.’
Her recent publications highlight themes like the role of social environments in moderating stress effects, genetic moderation of adversity impacts, and the long-term consequences of early life deprivation. She has contributed to understanding how post-institutionalized children recover through adoptive parenting and how family dynamics influence adolescent mental health. Prior roles include postdoctoral fellowships at Vanderbilt University and the University of Minnesota, as well as an Associate Research Scholar position at Princeton University’s Center for Research on Child Wellbeing.
Teaching responsibilities include advanced courses in child development, longitudinal data analysis, and regression methodologies. Her work integrates biological, psychological, and social perspectives to address real-world challenges in child and family health.
