Women in Academia

Dr Sabrina Thurman, Assistant Professor and Director of the Infant Development Lab at Elon University, USA

August 10, 2020 Irena Lovcevic Season 1 Episode 11
Women in Academia
Dr Sabrina Thurman, Assistant Professor and Director of the Infant Development Lab at Elon University, USA
Show Notes

Today it's great to have Dr Sabrina Thurman on the podcast. Dr Thurman is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Elon University and Director of the Infant Development Lab. She received her B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Dr Thurman studies how infants acquire new motor skills, postures, and forms of locomotion, and how infants learn to use their bodies for manipulation and exploration of their environments. She is interested in the role of caregivers in those processes. She also studies the development of reaching, intermanual coordination, and hand preference. Dr Thurman also teaches courses in early childhood development and lifespan development, and mentors students in independent research. Listen to this episode to hear more on Dr Thurman's research journey from being the first person in her family to attend the college to being the Professor and Lab Director.

Time stamps:

[00:45] Dr Thurman's introduction
[02:19] Dr Thurman's background
[04:49] Obstacles that Dr Thurman faced in her journey to Academia
[08:28] Work/life balance
[12:38] Dr Thurman's research on impact of learning new motor skills on infants' behaviour
[15:52] Plans for future research
[17:17] Issues that women in Academia are facing today according to Dr Thurman
[19:01] Dr Thurman's advice for everyone thinking about a career in Academia or for those just starting a career in Academia

Links:

Elon University: https://www.elon.edu/
Dr Thurman's Elon University faculty directory page: https://www.elon.edu/u/directory/profile/?user=sthurman2
Infant Development Lab: https://sites.google.com/elon.edu/infant-development-lab/home?authuser=0

If you are interested in participating in Dr Thurman's study on Parental beliefs about infant motor development and infant motor behaviours check this link: https://sites.google.com/elon.edu/infant-development-lab/current-projects/pb-mdmohab?authuser=0

Get in touch:

e-mail: podcast.irenalovcevic@gmail.com
twitter: @IrenaLovcevic
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website: https://munduslibrium.com/