Research Program Summary

My program of research centers on the role of experience – across the human lifespan - in the development of competence. My research relies largely on experimental interventions in education, psychology, and pediatrics that provide rigorous tests of plausible developmental mechanism of change. In addition, I engage both epidemiological and longitudinal datasets to provide a broad contextual framework for identifying the multiple, inter-related conditions that influence biopsychosocial risk, protective, and facilitating factors. My research findings are highly relevant to many national and international policy issues. Accordingly, I have extended my research into topics that address “going-to-scale” and rapid application of scientific findings that can prevent disabilities, promote children’s education and health outcomes, and improve family and community well-being. This new field of “implementation science” represents a new frontier for the neurosciences and for educating health practitioners ands policymakers. The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute affords me a unique opportunity to pursue my research interests in collaboration with scientists, scholars, and practitioners who themselves are challenging old paradigms and forging a new frontier in human developmental science.

Education and Training

• West Virginia University: Ph.D., Life Span Developmental Psychology
• University of California Berkeley: Postdoctoral fellowship, Human Development

Previous Positions

• Georgetown University Director, Georgetown University Center on Health and Education
  Distinguished Professor, Health Studies and Psychiatry

Selected Publications

• Campbell, F.A., Pungello, E., Kainz, K., Burchinal, M., Yi, P, Wasik, B.H., Barbarin, O., Sparling, J.J., & Ramey, C.T. (2012). Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: An Abecedarian project follow-up. Developmental Psychology.
• Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (2010). Head Start: Strategies to improve outcomes for children living in poverty. In R. Haskins and W.S. Barnett(Eds.). Investing in Young Children: New Directions in Federal and Early Childhood Policy. (pp. 59-67)Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
• Pungello, E.P., Kainz, K., Burchinal, M., Wasik, B.H., Sparling, J.J. Ramey, C.T., & Campbell, F.A. (2010). Early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment as predictors of young adult outcomes within a high-risk sample. Child Development, 81:410-426.
• Ramey, C.T., Ramey, S.L., & Stokes, B.R. (2009). Research evidence about program dosage and student achievement: Effective public prekindergarten programs in Maryland and Louisiana. In R. Pianta & C. Howes (Eds.). The Promise of Pre-K. (pp. 79-105)Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
• Campbell, F.A., Wasik, B.H., Pungello, E., Burchinal, M., Barbarin, O., Kainz, K., Sparling, J.J., & Ramey, C.T. (2008). Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian and CARE early childhood educational interventions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23:452-466.
• Ramey, C.T. & Ramey, S.L. (2006). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference?. In N.F. Watt, C.C. Ayoub, R.H. Bradley, J.E. Puma, & W.A. Lebeouf(Eds.). The crisis in youth mental health: Critical issues and effective programs. Early intervention programs and policies. Vol. 4(pp. 291-317)Westport: Praeger Press.
• Ramey, C.T., Ramey, S.L., & Lanzi, R.G. (2006). Children’s health and education. In I. Sigel & A. Renninger(Eds.). The handbook of child psychology. Vol. 4(pp. 864–892)Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley & Sons.
• Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (2004). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference?. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50:471-491.
• Ramey, C.T., Campbell, F.A., Burchinal, M., Skinner, M.L., Gardner, D.M., & Ramey, S.L. (2000). Persistent effects of early childhood education on high-risk children and their mothers. Applied Developmental Science, 4:2-14.
• Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (1998). Early intervention and early experience. American Psychologist, 53:109-120.

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