Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Child and Adolescent Psychiatry New York University
Regina Sullivan is a Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University. She is a Developmental Behavioral Neuroscientist with NYU’s Langone School of Medicine. She also serves on boards for scientific journals including, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Journal, International Journal for Developmental Psychobiology, and Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. Professor Sullivan researches the neurobiology of infant attachment to the caregiver to determine the neural mechanisms for the enduring mental health effects of abuse and trauma in early life. Her research has highlighted how the infant brain functions differently from the adult brain, as well as the critical role of the caregiver in modifying how the young brain responds to trauma. The work has also demonstrated how early life emotional experiences can have lifelong consequences, and we are attempting to reverse the negative aspects of these early life experiences. She is a frequent lecturer on the neurobiology of infant attachment and has presented around the United States and across Europe, Asia, and South America. Dr. Sullivan has served as a consultant and advisor to the National Institute of Health (NIH), including serving on committees for The Research Domain Criteria Project (RDoC) on Negative Affect, Child Maltreatment and Trauma, Improving Cross–species Understanding of Developmental, Blueprint for Developmental Neuroscience and Neurodevelopment for The National Advisory Mental Health Council. Additional service to The National Institute of Health includes charter membership in the NIH Center for Scientific Review panels, including Chairing. She also has notable service to other foundation and institutes including Sackler Developmental Psychobiology, The Child Mind Foundation, The Early Experience, Stress & Neurobehavioral Develop Center, and Center for Brain, Gene & Behavioral Research across Development. She has served as President for The International Society for Developmental Psychobiology and The Society for Neuroscience OK Chapter. Dr. Sullivan received her B.S. in experimental psychology from Brooklyn College and her Ph.D. in biopsychology from the City University of New York.