Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions: Megan R. Gunnar

The Awards for Distinguished Scientific Contributions are presented to persons who, in the opinion of the Committee on Scientific Awards, have made distinguished theoretical or empirical contributions to basic research in psychology. The 2021 recipients of the APA Scientific Contribution Awards were recognized by the 2020 Board of Scientific Affairs and selected by the 2020 Committee on Scientific Awards. For her seminal contributions to elucidating the associations between stress response systems and human behavioral development; for linking these associations to our understanding of how early caregiver experiences moderate stress physiology and facilitate coping in young children; for translating our knowledge about early biopsychosocial development to inform child care policies pertinent to children and adolescents; and for making substantive theoretical contributions to developmental science. Megan R. Gunnar has ushered new ways of thinking about stress to the field of psychology as well as provided strong and generous scientific leadership, leaving a lasting and inspiring impact on psychological science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).