Faculty bio | Basic & Applied Prevention Science Lab | 541-346-9528

Leslie Leve is best known for her research on child and adolescent development, gene-environment interplay, and interventions for underserved children, families, and communities. This includes preventive intervention studies with youth in foster care or juvenile justice system, adoption studies that examine the interplay between biological and social influences on development, and COVID-19 testing outreach programs for Latinx communities. She co-directs a center on parenting in the context of opioid use. Her work also focuses on outcomes for girls and women. To date, she has published more than 230 scientific articles and 20 book chapters. Her research has been funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Recent Media:
Election Blues: Strategies to cope with anxiety and confusion on Election Day (KLCC, Nov. 5, 2024)
Portland among top cities for childhood opportunity (Axios Portland, April 16, 2024)
Force for good: UO researcher Leslie Leve on helping those in recovery be better parents (Portland Business Journal, Aug. 22, 2022)
Childhood intervention strategies topic of Knight Campus talk (Around the O, March 22, 2021)
Door-to-door sampling by UO and OSU suggests 5 in 1,000 Eugene residents have COVID-19 (KVAL-TV, Nov. 20, 2020)
New grant will expand COVID-19 testing in Latinx communities (Around the O, Oct. 21, 2020)
UO in phase 2 of developing less invasive COVID-19 test (The Register-Guard, July 15, 2020)
Prof awarded more than $12 million to study children's health (Around the O, Oct. 2, 2018)
More effort needs to be on drug prevention, not cure (The Hill, Feb. 11, 2018)
The connections between spanking and aggression (The New York Times, June 27, 2016)
ANOTHER reason for stressed parents to fear the 'terrible twos': A screaming toddler could be on their way to a life of crime (Daily Mail, April 10, 2016)
Adopted preschoolers show more empathy when parents are affectionate (Health Canal, Sept. 30, 2015)
VIDEO: Nature, nurture and childhood obesity (The Register-Guard, Aug. 27, 2014)
Maternal smoking during pregnancy linked to children’s behavior problems, NIH funded study shows (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, July 31, 2013)
When adoptees know their biological mother (National Public Radio, Aug. 18, 2008)