Ph.D., Developmental and Clinical Psychology (2017)

Our featured alumnus in this issue of IMPACT is Dr. Justin Parent. Before Justin became an assistant professor of Psychology at Florida International University, he was a doctoral candidate in UVM’s Psychology program and was our featured graduate student in the October 2015 issue of IMPACT.

IMPACT: Justin, the last time we heard from you, you were a doctoral student in the UVM Graduate College. Tell us about your UVM program, your doctoral dissertation and graduation from UVM.

JUSTIN: I received a dual concentration Ph.D. in developmental and clinical psychology from the University of Vermont and completed a clinical psychology residency at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. My dissertation was on the multidimensional assessment of parenting across three developmental stages, and my NICHD Predoctoral Fellowship investigated the impact of parental mindfulness on family health and child psychosocial well-being.

IMPACT: After graduation, did you go right into academia or do a postdoctoral fellowship?

JUSTIN: I considered doing a postdoctoral fellowship to be able to continue to focus on my training but ultimately decided to take a tenure-track faculty position. The opportunities I had while an undergraduate and graduate student at UVM allowed me to be competitive for faculty positions and able to start my own laboratory immediately following graduation. 

IMPACT: We are very glad to hear that your experiences at UVM prepared you well.  You are currently an assistant professor at Florida International University. How did you end up there?

JUSTIN: I was excited about this position because the psychology department ranks 13th nationally on research and development expenditures, and faculty hold over $50 million in grants from federal agencies. Also, this position gave me the opportunity to join the Center for Children and Families (CCF) which focuses on research, education, and service in the area of child and adolescent mental health, with more than 3,000 families receiving services annually in school-year and summer settings.

IMPACT: Tell our readers about the research you are undertaking currently.

JUSTIN: My program of research explores the mechanisms through which families influence child adaptive and maladaptive development with the goal of optimizing intervention and prevention outcomes. A recent focus of this research has been on examining how early adversity exposures are transduced into molecular events controlling the expression of neuroregulatory genes, which in turn guide brain development, calibrate stress reactivity, and influence the development of psychopathology.

IMPACT: Do you have any awards or publications that you can share with us?

JUSTIN: I was excited that I was an NIH Early Stage Investigator Paper Competition winner and received an award through the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. Receiving this award was especially exciting because I was invited to go to the NIH campus, present my research, and meet NIH program officers. 

IMPACT: Congratulations on the Early Stage Investigator award. Do you keep in touch with anyone at UVM? 

JUSTIN: I still meet every other week with my mentor, Dr. Rex Forehand. He was and continues to be such a positive force and source of support for me professionally and personally. He continues to set a wonderful example of how to be a world-class researcher and person, which I can only hope to emulate. I look forward to continuing our collaboration and friendship for many years to come.

IMPACT: We know Dr. Forehand well and aren’t surprised that you keep in touch.  Tell our readers of any interests you have outside academia.

JUSTIN: Since moving to Miami, I have loved exploring South Florida! I grew up in Canada and Vermont, so it's like a whole new world here. I often head out to the Everglades on weekends to see alligators, kayak by Virginia key near my house to see manatees and tropical fish, or just relax on the beach underneath palm trees enjoying a book.

IMPACT: Justin, thank you for your time and we wish you the best in your career!