Makeba Parramore Wilbourn is an Associate Professor of the Practice in Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University, affiliated with Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. She holds additional affiliations with the Center for Biobehavioral Health Disparities Research and the Sanford School of Public Policy's Center for Child and Family Policy. Education: Ph.D., Cornell University, 2008 M.A., California State University, Fullerton, 2001 B.A., California State University, Fullerton, 1997 Research Interests: Her work explores how cognition and language interact across development, focusing on the role of gestures, bilingualism, and socio-cultural factors. Key themes include emotion perception in infants, racial biases in emotion reasoning, and the impact of socio-economic status on language development. Grants & Service: Principal Investigator on grants from NSF, RIKEN Brain Science Institute, and others. Service roles include IRB membership, grant review panels, and advocacy for minority faculty. Awards: Notable honors include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and NSF CAREER Award. Teaching: Courses span developmental psychology, research methods, and the role of race in development. Wilbourn Infant Lab (WILD): Studies how infants learn language through gestures and cultural contexts, emphasizing equity in early education.









