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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – RTI International has named international expert in early childhood development, Maureen Black, Ph.D., a Distinguished Fellow. The Distinguished Fellow appointment, the highest level in RTI's Fellow Program, honors exceptionally talented individuals whose internationally recognized scientific accomplishments have made a significant impact on society.
Black, a pediatric psychologist, has more than 25 years of academic, research, and clinical experience in research, programs, and policies that address health disparities in young children . Her expertise is in intervention research related to early child development and nutrition in low-income communities in the U.S. and in low- and middle-income countries. Her research has been funded by federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Maternal and Child Health.
She joined RTI's International Development Group this year, bringing with her a strong focus on individual and population-based indicators related to early child development and on early intervention strategies that bridge the areas of health and education.
"Maureen will contribute invaluable expertise in early childhood development to our work around the globe," said Melinda Taylor, senior vice president of international education at RTI. "Her knowledge and experience will bolster our ability to publish research, both through direct contribution and mentorship of RTI staff working to impact early childhood development outcomes and international education more broadly."
Black also currently maintains a half-time position as the John A. Scholl MD and Mary Louise Scholl MD Endowed Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she is a professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Epidemiology and Public Health and directs an interdisciplinary clinic for young children with growth and feeding difficulties. She also holds adjunct professor positions in the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Black has received many honors and several named lectureships. She has served on review panels for the National Institutes of Health and is a member of the External Scientific Panel of the NIH Science of Behavior Change. She was elected president of two divisions of the American Psychological Association, and has served on committees for APA, the Society for Research in Child Development, UNICEF, the Institute of Medicine, and the World Health Organization. She has written more than 300 book chapters and journal articles.
Black has a doctoral degree in psychology from Emory University, a master's degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California, and a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Pennsylvania State University.
