Dr. Grazyna Kochanska grew up in Warsaw, Poland, and obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Warsaw. She came to U.S. in 1981, where she has been fortunate to be able to continue her research career. She has done post-doctoral work at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, and the Laboratory of Developmental Psychology at NIMH in Bethesda, MD.

In 1991, she established her laboratory at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.  Her research explores social-emotional development and developmental psychopathology, emphasizing the interplay of children’s biologically-based characteristics and parent-child relationships in the origins of adaptive and maladaptive developmental pathways.

In her spare time, Grazyna bikes, reads mysteries, and watches reruns of classic TV shows (All in the Family, Three’s Company, Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched, Newhart, I Love Lucy, Mr. Ed). Having lived in Poland and U.S. – two very different political systems – Grazyna also has a keen interest in politics.