2009 Biennial Meeting Success

Dear Colleagues,

Larry and I have heard from many of you who attended the SSHD conference in Ann Arbor this year that it was a tremendous success. We were certainly pleased to have excellent weather and very few travel problems were reported. For those of you who were part of our scientific program, we congratulate you on creating a meeting of high scholarly quality. I believe our junior scholars found it a rare opportunity to meet with our more senior colleagues in both formal and informal settings.

The meeting began with a plenary session on Gene x Environment influences on later life human development. Participants included Alex Burt from Michigan State University, Danielle Dick from Virginia Commonwealth, Michael Meany from McGill and Steve Suomi from NIH. Our keynote on Sunday was Jane Costello who provided lessons learned from her longitudinal Smoky Mountain Study. Monday’s plenary symposium explored the exciting opportunities offered by the newly emerging field of Systems Science. Participants included Patty Mabry from NIH, Hazir Rahmandad from VPI, Jennifer Brown Urban from Montclair State

University, Nathaniel Osgood from the University of Saskatchewan, Rosalind King and Jonathan King, both from NIH.

Monday’s keynote speaker was K. Warner Schaie who offered an overview of findings from the Seattle Longitudinal Study. We also enjoyed 6 parallel symposia over the course of the meetings and 77 posters. In other parts of the website you should be able to view additional details about all presentations ( i.e. plenary sessions, keynote addresses, parallel symposia and posters) and photos from the meeting.

The work of several of our members was recognized with SSHD awards. These included: Early Career Award, Kira Birditt, Ph.D , University of Michigan; Best Completed Dissertation Award, Lang Ma, M.D., Ph.D, Tufts University; Best Dissertation Plan Award, Scott Trudeau, Boston College and Neda Bebiroglu, Tufts University.

And finally, the meeting was an important transitional time with Toni Antonucci passing the gavel to Larry Schiamberg, our new president.

SSHD Conference

Dear SSHD Friends and Colleagues,

We are now just a few weeks away from our 2009 SSHD biennial conference. You will find details about the conference elsewhere on this website. I would like to highlight a few things that I am especially pleased about and hoping will be especially interesting to all of you.

We have excellent content for our meetings. World class scholars and emerging scholars will present in keynote addresses, keynote plenary sessions, parallel symposia and poster sessions. Our topic areas include Gene x Environment Interactions, Systems Science, Social Relations, Cognitive Development, Psychopathology, Violence, Educational Perspectives, and Health. Representatives from NIH and OBSSR will attend and I am sure would be happy to speak to people about funding possibilities--especially within NIH.

In keeping with our tradition of being an emerging scholar-friendly organization, we are arranging special activities to provide opportunities for junior scholars to meet with more senior scholars over meals, poster sessions, and informal receptions.

Since we know times are difficult, generally but especially financially, we are trying to make sure that students will not be prevented from attending for financial reasons. We, therefore, have managed to secure funding to provide registration awards for student scholars who have no other means of support. Please let us know if this is the case for you.

I look forward to seeing you Oct.18 to 20 and welcoming you to the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan.

Warm regards,

Toni C. Antonucci, President

New Editor for RHD and Conference Update

Dear Colleagues,

First, I am very pleased to announce the Dr. Carolyn Aldwin from Oregon State University will be the new editor of our journal Research in Human Development. She has many exciting ideas and I am sure will be an outstanding editor. Please feel free to write to her if you have journal theme ideas and/or questions.

Next, I am very pleased to provide you with an update on our SSHD conference planned for Ann Arbor, Oct. 18-20^th. This meeting will have several unique and exciting features. Our theme is:

Human Development: Earlier Influences on Later Life Outcomes

We will have two keynote speakers whose work reflects a life span perspective.

Professor K. Warner Schaie will use the Seattle Longitudinal Study of cognition in adulthood to reflect on our theme.

E. Jane Costello will use the Great Smoky Mountains longitudinal study to consider developmental epidemiology of mental health – again consistent with our conference theme.

I have been working with NIH and OBSSR who will be sponsoring two exciting symposia. One is on the emerging systems perspective and the other on gene x environment interactions. Each will involve outstanding scholars in these fields and consider the affect of earlier influences on later life outcomes.

In addition, this conference will have an international flavor. We have scheduled our meeting to coincide with the LIFE program, a program that brings together graduate students and faculty from the University of Michigan, the Max Planck Institute and other Berlin Universities and Institutes, the University of Zurich, and the University of Virginia. SSHD conference attendees will have the opportunity to interact with faculty and students from each of these universities.

And finally, in keeping with our Society and conference goals to be especially welcoming to students and emerging scholars, we are planning posters/reception sessions at the end of the day, to permit our junior colleagues to meet and interact with more senior scholars.

I will update you again on conference plans as they emerge but please remember to register! I look forward to seeing you in Ann Arbor in October.

Warm Regards,

Toni C. Antonucci, President

Upcoming SSHD Conference

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to report that planning for our biannual meeting has begun.  Several initial decisions have been made.  The meeting will by held in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the campus of the University of Michigan, October 18 thru 20^th.  The theme of the meeting is:

Human Development: Earlier Influences on Later Life Outcomes.

 

A particular focus for the meeting is on the events and factors contributing to positive and negative developmental trajectories over the life course.

The 2009 biennial conference will address current knowledge and future directions of research, interventions and policy in understanding the contribution of earlier events/factors to later outcomes of human development –both positive and negative--across the life span and over the life course.  Interdisciplinary symposia proposals which address the central theme of the biennial meeting are encouraged and will be given priority. 

Proposals are encouraged in all topical areas which address the central theme. Posters will be accepted for research on this and related interdisciplinary lifespan themes.  Graduate student applications are particularly encouraged for poster presentations.

Symposia proposals and posters which offer international perspectives on the conference theme and related developmental issues are also welcome.

The website will be regularly updated with details concerning the conference, registration, and the Call for Papers.

New Beginnings

As the new academic year begins, the Society for the Study of Human Development is also beginning to plan our next phase of activities. These include new issues of Research in Human Development, our next SSHD meeting, and revisiting the roles and activities of the SSHD President and Steering Committee for the upcoming year.

As you may know, we have transitioned to a new president (me), a new publisher (Taylor and Francis), and a new, updated website (www.sshdonline.org). As we plan the future, we would appreciate the benefit of your input.

The steering committee is seeking a site for the next meeting, which will take place in October 2009. Thus far, the current favorite is the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. I would like to hear from you about whether you agree with this site and/or would like to host the next meeting or recommend another site. We are also considering a theme for our next meeting. The current favorite is -- Human Development: Earlier Influences on Later Outcomes. Your reactions to this theme and/or suggestions for others are also welcome.

We understand that some people have experienced difficulties with various logistics associated with the organization. We have spent some time trying to address these difficulties and believe that we have fixed many of these (well hopefully, all) but we’d like to know if you continue to have problems. Please let me know by sending me an email (tca@umich.edu). Our goal is to fix any continuing problems within 30 days.

I would also like to remind you that our journal, Research in Human Development, is flourishing. I urge you to consider the journal as a unique outlet for thematic presentations of your work. Please visit the website, http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t775653695~db=all and contact us if you have any difficulty.

On our website, www.sshdonline.org, you’ll notice that we have recently announced several awards for which you, your colleagues, or you students might be eligible. I especially urge you to consider nominating your students for the Best Dissertation Plan Award or the Best Completed Dissertation Award.

And finally, I encourage you to renew your membership, to invite your colleagues to join, and perhaps to give membership as a gift to your current students or graduating students. As you know, we highly value our student members and try to specifically target young people as we plan activities for the Society and for our meetings. We believe that we, as a broad but small multi-disciplinary group, have a lot to offer people at this point in their career. We realize they are our future leaders and we wish to support and further their success. I urge you and your students to visit the newly developed SSHD Early Career Network Group on our website, at: http://sshdsf.ning.com/. In the spirit of our multi-disciplinary society, I also urge you to tell people from other disciplines about our Society and to invite those with scholarly interests in human development to become SSHD members.

Wishing you a wonderful academic year as well as a full and productive year for the Society for the Study of Human Development.