Maureen Black

Dr. Maureen Black is a distinguished Fellow and an international expert in early childhood development. She is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where she was the John A. Scholl MD and Mary Louise Scholl MD Endowed Professor from 2003 to 2021. She is also an adjunct professor in the Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Dr. Black is a licensed psychologist. For over 25 years, she directed an interdisciplinary clinic for young children with growth and/or feeding problems. She also directed the Maryland site of Children’s HealthWatch, a nonpartisan research network of health care providers committed to improving children’s health in America. Her expertise is in the prevention of health disparities associated with threats to children’s early development, including poverty, nutritional deficiencies (e.g., food insecurity and micronutrient deficiencies), and lack of early learning opportunities.

Dr. Black has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other organizations for over 25 years and conducted 10 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in low-income communities in Maryland and in low- and middle-income countries throughout the world, aimed at promoting young children’s growth, health, and development. She has published over 400 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and commentaries, most related to children thriving. She serves on the editorial boards of four journals, and multiple review and advisory committees for NIH and other local, national, and international organizations, including UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank Group. In July 2022, she was invited to testify at a hearing on “Examining the Powerful Impact of Investments in Early Childhood for Children, Families, and our Nation’s Economy” before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Budget in Washington, DC.