Kristen Cunningham is a research scientist at the Buffett Institute. She came to the Institute in 2019 as a graduate assistant, helping with projects such as the Superintendents' Early Childhood Plan, and transitioned to research associate with the Research and Evaluation unit in 2021, and became a research specialist in 2022. Cunningham has earned a Ph.D. in psychology, with an emphasis in neuroscience and behavior, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she also earned a master's degree in neuroscience and behavior. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of San Diego in 2013.