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For Immediate Release
June 19, 2007
Michael MacKenzie Selected to Participate in National Fellowship Program
New York, NY – Dr. Michael MacKenzie, assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work, has been selected to participate in the “Leaders for the 21st Century” fellowship program developed by ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the healthy development of infants, toddlers, and their families.
During the two-year fellowship program, Dr. MacKenzie will investigate how risk and stress factors faced by burdened families can impact perceptions of infant behavior and care giving capacity. He will also be exploring the mechanisms in operation within the parent-child relationship that account for the association between negative perceptions of infant crying/feeding/sleeping behavior and subsequent maltreatment.
The “Leaders for the 21st Century” fellowship program, which began in 1981, is guided by the principles that babies do better when the professionals that serve them and their families are connected across disciplines, are well versed in the latest scientific advances, and are well equipped with the leadership skills needed to manage complex organizations. The work of ZERO TO THREE is informed by the scientific evidence that infants’ and young children’s earliest experiences impact the development of their brains and shape their ability, as children and adults to learn, to work, to play, and to contribute to society. Through the fellowship program, ZERO TO THREE connects, enriches, and inspires the multidisciplinary community of professionals dedicated to advancing the healthy development of very young children.
The 23 members of the 2007-2009 Fellows hail from 14 states, Canada, and a U.S. military base abroad. They come from universities, state government, health, mental health and child care agencies, and the courts.
For more information about the program, please visit www.zerotothree.org/leaders. To interview Dr. MacKenzie, please contact Jeannie Hii at 212-851-2327 or [email protected].
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About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)
For more than 100 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been the leader in practice and policy. Located in New York City, the School offers Master’s and Doctoral programs which are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With its signature curriculum that encompasses multifaceted academic coursework and a far-reaching field education experience, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical practice, public policy, teaching, research and social work innovation in the 21st century.
About Michael MacKenzie
Dr. MacKenzie is a Social Worker and Developmental Psychopathologist with a primary interest in the early social and biological factors that contribute to later mental health and psychopathology. He comes to Columbia from the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan where he completed his MSW and a dual doctoral degree in Social Work and Developmental Psychology. Dr. MacKenzie also has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Molecular Genetics from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Canada. He is involved in several NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) funded longitudinal studies investigating the development of self-regulation processes during infancy in families facing social disadvantage and mental health difficulties. His research examines both the social and biological aspects of the parent-infant relationship. This work has several foci, including examining the etiology and developmental consequences of developmental psychopathology and child maltreatment as well as the impact of placement disruptions and instability on children in the child welfare system. In 2006, Dr. MacKenzie was honored with an Early Career Investigator Award from the International Society on Infant Studies. |
