Kathy Modecki

Kathy Modecki is a Professor in the School of Psychological Science at The University of Western Australia. She leads the Developmental Science of Mental Health Team at Telethon Kids Institute and previously held roles at Griffith University and Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center. Her research focuses on youth mental health, particularly how adolescents and families navigate stressors in socio-economically disadvantaged contexts. She employs innovative methods like experience sampling and wearable technologies. Modecki has secured grants totaling $2607 in citations and holds a h-index of 24. Key awards include the 2024 Distinguished Professorial Fellowship and Mid-Career Researcher Award.

• Education:
  • BA (Psychology) with Honors, University of Virginia
  • MA & PhD (Psychology), University of New Hampshire
  • NIMH T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Arizona State University
• Research Interests: Longitudinal studies on adolescent mental health, digital emotion regulation, prevention science, and structural disadvantage impacts. Her lab uses multi-method approaches across ecological timescales (seconds to years).
• Grants:
  • "Every moment counts" youth mental health initiative ($2.4M, 2024-2028)
  • Stan Perron Charitable Foundation grant (2023-2029)
• Labs/Teams: Leads the Developmental Science of Mental Health Team at Telethon Kids Institute, focusing on translational research for at-risk youth populations.