Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture

How early life shapes the developing brain

Early life is a critical time for brain development and long-term mental health. The structure of our environment during this period, from before birth through the first years of childhood, has the power to transform how the brain grows and behaviors emerge. What happens to brain development when that environment is disrupted by stress, insufficient sleep, and fragmented care? How can we promote resilience during this key neurodevelopmental stage? In this event, three experts bring together perspectives combining neuroscience, psychology, and clinical approaches to discuss the trajectory of brain development in early life.

Claudia Lugo-Candelas, PhD, Florence Irving Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will open our event by discussing the role of maternal sleep in shaping the brain and behavior of the next generation. By identifying fluctuations in sleep during pregnancy, Dr. Lugo-Candelas is able to investigate the very first environment we grow up in, even before birth. What happens to a young child’s neurodevelopment if their mother couldn’t get enough quality sleep? And what science-based strategies do we have to counteract negative effects of maternal stress?

Kevin G. Bath, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Behavior at Barnard College of Columbia University, Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, will then explore how adverse experiences encountered in early life can influence the developing brain. Changes introduced into the mother-pup relationships of mice, such as irregular sleep schedules and unpredictable caregiving, greatly impact the structure of the pup’s environment. How does the brain of a newborn mouse grow and mature in the face of these shifts? By directly measuring how the brain rewires and adapts, Dr. Bath’s research sheds light on what biology tells us about navigating stressful experiences.

Following the two talks, Dr. Thiago Arzua, Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the lab of Dr. Bianca Jones Marlin at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute, will moderate a discussion and Q&A with the speakers. Audience questions are welcomed, either submitted during registration or live during the event.

About the experts

Claudia Lugo-Candelas, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the perinatal programming of risk and resilience for neurodevelopmental disorders. She obtained a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Lugo-Candelas completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in Columbia University’s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division in 2018. That same year she joined the faculty, in 2020 was named the Bender-Fishbein Scholar in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and in 2024 became the Florence Irving Associate Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry). Dr. Lugo-Candelas’ overarching research interest is to better understand the early development of inhibitory control difficulties, particularly within developmental disorders such as ADHD. She is especially committed to understanding the exposures and experiences that are most relevant to communities that are minoritized, underserved, and underrepresented. Her lab leverages neuroscience (neuroimaging, electroencephalography), biomarker, actigraphy, and mixed methods approaches to study sleep in pregnancy and postpartum. She aims to understand how stressful life experiences impact sleep in this period, with several studies examining this association and mechanisms of transmission to offspring. Her work is funded by the NIH, NARSAD, One Mind, and various foundations and Columbia University pilot awards. At the heart of her mission is the strongly held belief that diversity and equity are indispensable to the development of sound science and public health. Mentorship and training are core missions of her lab, with the aim of increasing access to higher education and increasing the representation of minoritized communities within the STEM fields, particularly psychiatry and neuroscience.

Kevin G. Bath, PhD, is a developmental neuroscientist whose research centers on how early-life environments shape the trajectory of brain development. Dr. Bath earned his Ph.D. in Behavioral and Evolutionary Neuroscience from the Department of Psychology at Cornell University. He went on to complete postdoctoral training in the Department of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and in the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology at Rockefeller University. Dr. Bath is currently a Professor of Neuroscience and Behavior at Barnard College of Columbia University, a Research Scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and an Associate Professor of Medical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His laboratory investigates how adverse early-life experiences alter brain development and the genetic programs that mediate these changes. Using an evolutionary-developmental approach, his team explores how shifts in the timing and trajectory of brain maturation, particularly within the social behavior network, limbic, paralimbic, and cortical regions, support adaptive responses to challenging environments. This work has important implications for understanding the emergence of psychopathology when early adaptations become mismatched with later-life contexts. Dr. Bath is a strong advocate for mentorship and training and is deeply committed to supporting the next generation of scientists. His dedication to mentorship is rooted in his own experience navigating academia as a first-generation college student. His research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD), Hassenfeld Foundation, Carney Institute, and the Epilepsy Foundation.

Born and raised in Brazil, Thiago Arzua, PhD, is currently a neuroscientist at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute, where he studies how traumatic experiences can be passed down through multiple generations. Before that, Dr. Arzua completed his Ph.D. at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he used brain organoids derived from human stem cells to study how the environment can impact neurodevelopment. Outside the lab, Dr. Arzua remains engaged in fights for diversity and equity within science, being a co-founder of Black In Neuro, as well as a science policy ambassador for the Society for Neuroscience. As an early-career researcher, he has won multiple awards, including the NIH’s Outstanding Scholars in Neuroscience Award, being nominated 30 Under 30 by Forbes Magazine, as well as the Leon Levy Scholarship in Neuroscience.

This talk is part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Brain Insight Lecture series, offered free to the public to enhance understanding of the biology of the mind and the complexity of human behavior. The lectures are hosted by Columbia’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. When registering, please indicate whether you wish to attend in person or watch the livestream virtually. All registrants will receive a Zoom link for the livestream and a recording of the lecture afterwards.