Rate My Professor Emma Duerden

Dr. Emma Duerden is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Western University and holds the position of Tier 2 CIHR Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and Learning Disorders in Applied Psychology. She earned a BA in Psychology and an MSc in Neuroscience from McGill University, followed by a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Montreal. In her role, she supervises graduate students in the School and Applied Child Psychology program and the Counselling Psychology Program. Her research program examines the effects of early adversity on cognitive development, beginning in fetal life and extending to infants and school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder or those born very preterm. The work aims to identify risk factors associated with early adversity as well as protective factors that support resilience, healthy brain development, and academic achievement.

Dr. Duerden serves as scientific lead of the Developing Brain research program and is a member of the Brain & Mind Institute at Western University. She has received recognition including the Children’s Health Research Institute Scientist of the Year award and honours from the Royal Society of Canada. Her contributions include publications on topics such as adversity and family resilience in children with autism spectrum disorder, altered resting-state functional connectivity in newborns with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and studies linking screen time to mental health outcomes in youth. She has also been involved in public discussions and media on brain development, social media impacts, and early childhood neurodevelopment.