Baby's First Years
The first study in the United States to assess the impact of poverty reduction on family life and young children's cognitive, emotional, and brain development
Core Principal Investigators
Lead PI, Social and Behavioral Science
Professor of Social Work, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Katherine Magnuson, PhD, is Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she directed the Institute for Research on Poverty from 2019 to 2024. Her research focuses on the well-being and development of economically disadvantaged children and their families, including how policies and programs, especially early childhood education, may alter the effects of socioeconomic disparities on children's development. She is a lead principal investigator of Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.
Lead PI, Neuroscience
Professor of Neuroscience and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Kimberly Noble, MD, PhD, is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child and Parent Development and Education and Professor of Neuroscience and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she directs the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development (NEED) Lab. A neuroscientist and board-certified pediatrician, she studies how socioeconomic inequality relates to children's cognitive, emotional, and brain development. She is a lead principal investigator of Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.
Distinguished Professor of Education, University of California, Irvine
Greg Duncan, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. His recent work focuses on how school-entry skills and behaviors influence children’s later school achievement and attainment and how increasing income inequality can affect schools and influence children’s life chances. Dr. Duncan was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2010, and in 2015 he received the Society for Research in Child Development’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy and Practice in Child Development.
Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, College Park
Nathan A. Fox, PhD, is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He studies the effects of early experience on brain and behavioral development in infants and children and is one of three principal investigators of the Bucharest Early Intervention Project. He is a principal investigator of Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.
Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Lisa A. Gennetian, PhD, is the Pritzker Professor of Early Learning Policy Studies at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy. An applied economist, she studies child poverty, from income security and stability to early care and education, with a focus on the causal mechanisms through which poverty shapes children's development. She is a principal investigator of Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.
Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education, NYU Steinhardt; Professor of Applied Psychology; Co-Director of the Global TIES for Children Center, New York University
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, PhD, is the Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education at NYU Steinhardt and a University Professor at New York University. A community and developmental psychologist, he conducts research-policy, research-advocacy, and research-practice partnerships related to immigration, early childhood, sexual orientation and gender identity, youth development, and poverty reduction. He is a principal investigator of Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.
Lead Qualitative Study Researcher
Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sarah Halpern-Meekin, PhD, is Director of the Institute for Research on Poverty and the Vaughan Bascom Professor of Women, Family and Community at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. A sociologist, she uses qualitative and quantitative methods to study romantic relationships, low-income families' finances, and the government policies directed at both. She is the lead qualitative researcher for Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.
Lead Electroencephalogram (EEG) Investigator
Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University
Sonya Troller-Renfree, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Stroller Laboratory at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research examines how early experiences, such as stress and adversity, shape neurocognitive and socioemotional development. She is the lead electroencephalography (EEG) investigator for Baby's First Years, the first multisite randomized controlled trial in the United States to test the effects of monthly unconditional cash support on the development of children born into families with low incomes.