Dr. Terrie Moffitt is a distinguished developmental psychologist whose pioneering research has fundamentally reshaped understanding of behavioral trajectories across the human lifespan. She holds the prestigious dual appointments of Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor of Psychology at Duke University and Professor of Social Development at King's College London, a position she has maintained since 1996. Trained as a clinical psychologist with a PhD from the University of Southern California, she completed postdoctoral work at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric Institute and has established herself as a leading authority in longitudinal developmental research. Her remarkable career bridges American and British academic institutions, reflecting her significant influence across international scientific communities and her commitment to advancing behavioral science through rigorous methodological approaches.
Dr. Moffitt is renowned for developing the influential developmental theory of crime that distinguishes between life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behavior, revolutionizing criminological thought worldwide. As Associate Director of the Dunedin Longitudinal Study tracking 1,037 New Zealanders born in 1972-73 and co-founder of the UK-based Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, she pioneered the integration of genomics into developmental psychology, with her team among the first to collect DNA in longitudinal research in 1996. Her groundbreaking work on gene-environment interactions has demonstrated how genetic vulnerabilities interact with environmental adversity to shape behavioral outcomes, fundamentally altering theoretical frameworks across psychology, psychiatry, and criminology. These seminal contributions have generated thousands of citations and significantly influenced evidence-based approaches to understanding mental health disorders and antisocial behavior from childhood through adulthood.
Dr. Moffitt has cultivated extraordinary interdisciplinary collaborations, working with criminologists, economists, geneticists, epidemiologists, sociologists, and neuroscientists to develop comprehensive models of human development and behavioral pathology. She has received numerous prestigious honors including the Stockholm Prize in Criminology, the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize, and appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire, while being elected as a Fellow of the British Academy, National Academy of Medicine, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. As a licensed clinical psychologist with specialization in neuropsychological assessment, she maintains a strong commitment to accurate science communication and public understanding of behavioral research. Her current work continues to explore the consequences of lifetime mental and behavioral disorders on aging processes, extending her profound legacy of transforming how we understand the developmental origins of human behavior across the entire lifespan.
