Dr. Hostinar is the lab director and an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at UC Davis. She completed her doctoral training in Developmental Psychology at the University of Minnesota (Institute of Child Development) and her postdoctoral training at Northwestern University. Dr. Hostinar investigates the ways in which childhood poverty and other forms of early-life adversity influence later development and health. She has particular interest in protective factors that may buffer children and adolescents from chronic stress and subsequent physical or mental health problems. Her work examines developmental processes at multiple levels of analysis, incorporating endocrine and immune biomarkers, electrophysiological data, genetic assays, and behavioral measures. She seeks to improve understanding of the role of early-life stress in shaping self-regulatory skills, and to illuminate how stress-buffering processes such as supportive social relationships exert their effects.