Graduate Scholars
The Buffett Early Childhood Institute offers fellowships for advanced doctoral students in the University of Nebraska System who conduct research concerning the development and education of young children, prenatal to 8 years old.
The program awards one-year fellowships worth up to $25,000 to a maximum of four NU doctoral students every year. The program seeks to support high-quality research from diverse fields—including health, education, social work, music, art, psychology, the neurosciences, and others. Multidisciplinary research and new methodologies are encouraged.
Want to find out more about becoming a Graduate Scholar?
Priyanka Chaudhary, 2023–24 Graduate Scholar
Priyanka Chaudhary, of Birgunj, Nepal, is a student in the School of Health and Kinesiology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Her project uses a mixed-methods approach to better understand factors that influence women’s level of pre-pregnancy physical activity as well as the influence physical activity has on birth outcomes in Nebraska. Studies have shown that over 55 percent of women aged 18 to 45 fail to meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity.
To address this issue, she believes that pre-pregnancy care, including regularly participating in physical activity, is crucial as it can significantly improve women's health before conception, consequently reducing infant morbidity rates. She aspires to pave the way for the better design of evidence-based programs related to physical activity that can improve the well-being of both mothers and their infants.
Her faculty mentor is Danae Dinkel.
Jabeen Taiba, 2023–24 Graduate Scholar
Jabeen Taiba, of Vijayawada, India, is a student in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Taiba’s project, “Association between agrichemical mixtures and pediatric health outcomes in Nebraska,” will identify the counties in Nebraska and across the nation where the heaviest application of pesticides took place over the past 28 years, and then evaluate their association with pediatric cancer and birth defects, adjusting for social vulnerability effects factors such as income levels, race, and education.
Her faculty mentor is Eleanor G. Rogan.
Yao Yao, 2023–24 Graduate Scholar
Yao Yao, of Xi’an, China, is a student in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Yao’s project aims to examine the impact of the Elaborative Conversation Strategies (ECS) intervention on parent-child interactions and preschool children’s science learning. The findings may inform parents of high-quality conversation strategies that can be used in everyday interactions to support children's science learning. The study findings may also provide an opportunity to address the issue of equitable access to enriching science learning opportunities among low-income families.
Her faculty mentor is Soo-Young Hong.
Past Graduate Scholars
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