Dr. Charles Nelson

Biography

Charles Nelson III is a Professor of Education and Pediatrics at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Medical School, respectively. He holds the Richard David Scott Chair in Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he also serves as the Director of Research in the Division of Developmental Medicine. His research expertise encompasses a range of topics within developmental cognitive neuroscience, including developmental trajectories of autism and the effects of early adversity on brain and behavioral development. Nelson has chaired the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Early Experience and Brain Development and has contributed to panels of the National Academy of Sciences. He authored 'Neurons to Neighborhoods' and has conducted significant research on child abuse and neglect. He has received several honors, including the Leon Eisenberg Award from Harvard Medical School, an honorary doctorate from Bucharest University, and the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the British Academy.

Research Interests