Craig Ramey
Professor and Distinguished VTC Research Scholar in the VTCRI and Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech
Description of work
My program of research centers on the role of experience – across the human lifespan - in the development of competence, as closely linked to brain structure and function. My research relies largely on experimental interventions, theoretically driven, that provide a rigorous test of plausible developmental mechanisms 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.
Previous position
Director, Georgetown University Center on Health and Education Distinguished Professor of Health Studies and of Psychiatry, Georgetown University
Education
- West Virginia University: Ph.D., Life Span Developmental Psychology
- University of California Berkeley: Post doctoral fellowship, Human Development
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. Download this article
- 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. Download this chapter
- 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. Download this chapter
- 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. Download this article
