Dr. Erin Dunn - One Mind

One Mind Peter Chiarelli Rising Star Collaborative Research Award

Understanding Why Childhood Stress is a Major Risk Factor for Depression in Adolescents and Young Adults. Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Dunn’s team is identifying key developmental windows for preventing depression, translating social and biological findings into real-world prevention programs.

Dr. Erin Dunn is a social and psychiatric epidemiologist at the forefront of research on how social and biological factors shape depression risk, particularly in women, children, and adolescents. Her interdisciplinary lab focuses on identifying causal mechanisms and sensitive developmental periods when interventions can have the greatest impact on brain health. Dr. Dunn’s innovative work includes exploring baby teeth as biological archives of early-life stress, as featured in major media outlets. Through studies like the STRONG Study, she aims to develop precisely timed, population-based strategies to prevent depression and promote lifelong mental health