The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute is pleased to welcome Lucelmo Lacerda, PhD, a visiting scholar who will be working with FPG senior research scientists Sam Odom, PhD, and Ann Sam, PhD. We recently spoke with Lacerda to learn more about his work and his path to FPG—here’s what he had to say.

Jean Jarrett, a graduate student in the department of health sciences speech and hearing sciences at the UNC School of Medicine, was recently named the winner of the 2025 James J. Gallagher Dissertation Award from the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. The award honors the legacy of the late Jim Gallagher, FPG director from 1970 to 1987 and provides a $4,500 stipend.

The Abecedarian Award honors a Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute staff member's early career research that is scientifically rigorous and addresses an issue of significant social concern. We recently spoke with this year's winner, Jessica Amsbary, PhD, to ask about her work at the Institute and what the Abecedarian Award means to her.

The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute recently produced a series of stories that highlight the impact some of its recent efforts are making in early childhood special education as states support children and families. Keep reading to see the difference ECTA's work makes.

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute's Early Childhood Inclusion Institute—an annual event dedicated to improving outcomes for young children with disabilities and their families—join us for a global conversation on advancing inclusion for young children with disabilities.

The PriCARE study (short for "Child Adult Relationship Enhancement in Pediatric Primary Care"), led by Samantha Schilling, a pediatrician at the UNC School of Medicine and a faculty fellow at FPG, is trying to help parents navigate the challenges of parenthood through evidence-based workshops.

After reading about research showing the incidence rate of diagnosable psychiatric disorders in adults was lower in those who grew up near green spaces as children, FPG's Nissa Towe-Goodman became interested in exploring how the availability of natural areas could offset the development of those disorders.

Teresa Taylor, MEd, is an intervention specialist with the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI) team at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). As part of our FPG profile series, we recently spoke with Taylor to learn more about her work at FPG.

In April, FPG's Award Selection Committee named Jani Kozlowski, as this year’s recipient of the Richard M. Clifford Fund for International Collaboration on Early Learning Environments award. Kozlowski, a technical assistance specialist with the Trohanis Technical Assistance Projects at FPG, was chosen because her work reflects Clifford’s passion for fostering international collaborations among researchers to further understanding of quality in early learning environments.