Duke professor elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Terrie Moffitt, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Nannerl University O. Keohane, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors awarded to leaders in health and medicine.

Moffitt joined the Academy with 84 other new members, including 10 international members. The Academy announced the elections Monday at its annual meeting. Founded in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Medicine is one of three branches of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

According to the press release of the Academy, Moffitt was elected for his "decisive contribution to our understanding of human development". Moffitt's fundamental theory on the development of antisocial behavior has had a broad influence, including on the clinical diagnosis of conduct disorders in the inter-age child and two Supreme Court decisions.

She was named a member of the British Academy in 2004 and received the Stockholm Prize in Criminology in 2007. Moffitt joined Duke in 2009 with her husband and co-author, Avshalom Caspi, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Edward M. Arnett.

Moffitt is also Associate Director of Dunedin's Multidisciplinary Study on Health and Development, a long-standing study that tracks the health, development, and wellbeing of a sample of over 1,000 Neo Zealanders aged 45 and over, from birth to date. She and her husband, who later joined the study, used the data to publish several reputable articles.

Moffitt has been named twice on the list of the most cited authors of the Web of Science.

"[Moffitt and Caspi] have made so much that it's impossible to classify them, "said Brent Roberts, professor of psychology at the University of Illinois and former colleague of the couple, in the journal Science.

Their studies go beyond psychology and touch on areas such as genetics, criminology and sociology. One of their discoveries, which revealed how the genetic make-up of some people makes them vulnerable to specific stress, has contributed significantly to the understanding of juvenile crime. In 2005, the study was cited in the US Supreme Court's decision to ban the execution of minor murderers.

"Not all people are created equal," Moffitt told Science in the interview. "Some have real talent and talent, and some have real problems right off the bat. Once we have accepted this, we will no longer be able to escape responsibility for social action. "