Stress Neurobiology and Prevention (SNAP) lab

Phil Fisher is an academic expert in child development, specifically related to the effects of early stressful experiences, including child abuse and neglect. Phil develops programs for improving abused and neglected children's ability to attach to caregivers, build relationships with peers, and function in school. Phil is the science director for the National Forum on Early Childhood Policy and Programs, based at Harvard University, a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Center on the Developing Child and the co-principal investigator on the Translational Drug Abuse Prevention Center, which works to increase the understanding of the effects of early adversity and risk in decision-making and behavior policy and practice in child welfare systems.

Recent Media:

• Challenges And Bright Spots Of Single Parenting During A Pandemic (WBEZ, May 20, 2021)
• A year without play: Parents and experts worry about loss of social skills during pandemic (WHYY, April 21, 2021)
• Child Tax Credit Expansion Creates Opportunity To Improve Child Development (Forbes, March 23, 2021)
• America's Mothers Are In Crisis (The New York Times, Feb. 4, 2021)
• Experts say this is what children need to survive the COVID-19 pandemic (USA Today, Dec. 22, 2020)
• The Learning Curve: Some Say the Kids Are OK. They’re Not. Now What? (Voice of San Diego, Dec. 17, 2020)
• How to help kids build resilience amid COVID-19 chaos (PBS NewsHour, Dec. 16, 2020)
• Children of Quarantine: What does a year of isolation and anxiety do to a developing brain? (The Cut, Nov. 24, 2020)
• 5 researchers who can help us understand how children succeed (PBS NewsHour, Oct. 30, 2020)
• What kids stand to lose if 2020 steals kindergarten (The Hechinger Report, Oct. 27, 2020)
• Gender employment gap widens with start of virtual school year (The Hill, Oct. 14, 2020)
• Pandemic Isolation Makes Parenting Challenging (Newsmax, Oct. 7, 2020)
• Day-care slots for babies are vanishing. Now their parents can’t work. (The Washington Post, Oct. 6, 2020)
• ‘Where Are the Rest of You?’ With as Many as 600,000 Students Skipping Kindergarten During the Pandemic, Districts Plead With Parents Not to Delay (The 74, Sept. 24, 2020)
• Surveys offer window into how families with young kids are faring through pandemic (USC Center for Health Journalism, Sept. 24, 2020)
• US parents delaying preschool and kindergarten amid pandemic (The Washington Post, Sept. 24, 2020)
• The Pandemic Is a ‘Mental Health Crisis’ for Parents (The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2020)
• The childcare crisis limits women entrepreneurs’ potential (Forbes, Aug. 26, 2020)
• Survey provides ‘moving picture’ of pandemic’s turbulent impact on families with young children (The 74, July 21, 2020)
• Defying Trump, schools edge towards remote learning (Newsweek, July 16, 2020)
• UO research project tracks effects of pandemic on families with young children (KLCC, June 25, 2020)
• Between a Rock and a Hard Place: As the country reopens, households with young children are forced to choose between income and family safety. (Medium, June 2, 2020)
• American Dream vs American Reality: The increasing challenges of lower-income households with young children in the time of COVID-19 (Medium, May 12, 2020)
• The Forgotten Households (Medium, May 5, 2020)
• Why Households with Young Children Warrant Our Attention and Support During (and After) the COVID-19 Pandemic (Medium, April 21, 2020)
• Research team addresses coronavirus impact on families (OregonNews, April 22, 2020)
• UO center begins project on emergency responses (Jefferson Public Radio, April 10, 2020)
• From trauma-informed to asset-informed care in early childhood (Brookings, Oct. 23, 2019)
• ‘For-Now Parents’ and ‘Big Feelings’: How Sesame Street Talks About Trauma (The Atlantic, May 20, 2019)
• Muppets lend a fuzzy hand to UO professor's presentation (OregonNews, May 6, 2016)
• Diverting people from destructive behavior (Jefferson Public Radio, Nov. 20, 2015)
• Q&A: A researcher who’s seeking nimble interventions for toxic stress (Chalkbeat Colorado, Oct. 9, 2015)
• Oregon scientists say preparing foster kids for school lessens impact of moves (EurekAlert!, May 19, 2015)
• How neglect shapes the brain (Scienceline, June 25, 2014)
• Fetal alcohol disorders common in adopted foster kids (Reuters, Sept. 9, 2013)
• Dr. Phil Fisher, University of Oregon - Infant perception and parental arguments (WAMC Northeast Public Radio, May 21, 2013)