Darlynn Rojo-Wissar, Ph.D., M.P.H, a T32-funded postdoctoral fellow with the Stress, Trauma, and Resilience (STAR) Initiative, has earned an interdisciplinary fellowship from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). As one of seven Early Career Interdisciplinary Scholars, Rojo-Wissar was able to attend the SRCD 2023 biennial meeting in Salt Lake City and benefit from mentorship with one of the society’s senior developmental scientists.
The goal of the fellowship is to enable scholars from disciplines outside of psychology or human development to learn from, and exchange ideas with, child development researchers. Rojo-Wissar, a psychiatric epidemiologist, currently studies the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in the development of health outcomes, particularly in the context of early-life exposures such as adversity and the parent-child relationship.
“I’ve been heavily involved in the sleep research world for the past 11 years, so this has been a catalyst for me to venture into child development conferences and collaborations,” Rojo-Wissar said. “This conference was my first time making connections based on child development, and it’s been a very positive, encouraging, exciting experience. I’ll definitely be going back.”
Through the fellowship, Rojo-Wissar was paired with mentor Dr. Annie Bernier, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the University of Montreal. Bernier specializes in psychosocial factors in sleep development with particular experience looking at the parent-child relationship.
In addition to her fellowship activities, Rojo-Wissar also organized a symposium for the conference that focused on sleep in the context of family adversity. The symposium’s four talks brought sleep research into the forefront of ongoing conversations in child development.
“There was a lot of interest in the role of father involvement in young children’s sleep, sleep in the context of adversity, co-sleeping, and cultural differences in sleep development,” she said. “I had a lot of people come up to me afterward about potential collaborations. I’m excited to see where those go.”
