TRANSFORM has chosen the theme of resiliency for this year’s webinar series. We are hoping to shed light on how science and practice come together to help us better prevent and address child abuse and neglect. For our first webinar, we will be discussing neuroplasticity of the brain. When children face difficult experiences, their brains can change and adapt and often develop flight or fight responses. Dr. Darcy Mahoney will share her work with children and explore how we can maximize on the amazing capabilities in a child’s early life to promote brain growth and language.

Dr. Darcy Mahoney, PhD, NNP is a neonatal nurse practitioner and researcher, who has advanced nursing research, education, and practice, with a focus on neonatology, infant health, and developmental pediatrics. Her innovative work has led to the creation of programs that improve infant health and developmental outcomes for infants. As the director of infant research at George Washington University’s Autism and Neurodevelopmental Institute, she also advances the body of research in infant health and developmental outcomes in high-risk infants with a focus on understanding the early brain and development trajectories in this population. Her research leverages her knowledge in neonatal nursing, behavioral and cognitive assessment and training in neuroimaging to inform an understanding of multimodal social learning and social perception among high-risk infants and toddlers. NIH, Office of Minority Health, HRSA, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, United Way, and Macy Foundation have funded her work, and she has published in high-quality peer-reviewed inter-professional journals. As a fellow of the American Academy of Nurses, and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar Alumna, we are lucky to have her participation for this important webinar.

Register here to attend on November 18, 2021 at 12:00 p.m.