Justin Parent

  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Psychology; Clinical Psychology
  • Phone: 401.874.5571
  • Email: justin.parent@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Chafee 414
  • Website
  • Accepting Students: Not at this time

Accepting Students: Dr. Parent will not be accepting new doctoral graduate students for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Biography

Dr. Parent is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at URI. Dr. Parent received his Ph.D. in Clinical and Developmental Psychology at the University of Vermont and completed his clinical psychology internship at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Parent is the Director of the Kids Development and Stress (KiDS) Lab at URI. He is the author of over 100 articles, and his research is currently supported by grants from NIMHD, NIGMS, and NICHD and has been recognized through several awards (e.g.,White House Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; NIH/OBSSR’s Early Stage Investigator Award, APS Rising Star).

Learn more about the KiDSLab.

Research

PLEASE NOTE: Dr. Parent will not be accepting new graduate students for the 2026-2027 academic year. 

Dr. Parent’s program of research explores mechanisms through which families influence child adaptive and maladaptive development with the goal of optimizing intervention and prevention outcomes. A particular emphasis of his research program has been on understanding how enhancing family well-being (e.g., parenting, parental psychopathology, coparenting) or youth sleep health alters
stress-related physiological systems among at-risk youth and potentially ameliorates the biological embedding of stress and adversity. The goal of this research is to develop biological-informed, personalized approaches for risk identification and
prevention/intervention, together resulting in the reduction of health disparities. Dr. Parent’s lab is currently focused on the following projects:

  • NIMHD R01 MD015401, PI. Epigenomic mechanisms of risk and resilience: The role of parenting
  • NIGMS P20GM103430, Pilot project PI (Project Mentor: John McGeary; INBRE PI: Cho). The impact of changes in peripubertal sleep disturbances on child DNA methylation and internalizing psychopathology.

Education

  • Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium, Clinical Residency, 2017
  • University of Vermont, Ph.D. in Clinical and Developmental Psychology, 2017
  • University of Vermont, B.A. in Psychology, 2011

Selected Publications

 

Metrailer, G., Tavares, K., Ver Pault, M., Lopez, A., Denherder, S.,
Hernandez Valencia, E., DiMarzio, K., Highlander, A., Merrill, S. M., Rojo-Wissar, D.M., & Parent, J. (in press). Community threat, positive parenting, and accelerated epigenetic aging: Longitudinal links from childhood to adolescence. Child Development.

D’Agata, A., Eaton, C., Smith, T., Vittner, D., Sullivan, M., Granger, D.A., Lu, B., & Parent, J. (2025). Psychological and physical health of a us preterm birth cohort at 35 years. JAMA Network Open, 8(7):e2522599. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.22599

Hogan, C., Merrill, S., Hernandez Valencia, E., McHayle, A., Sisistsky, M., & Parent, J. (2025). The impact of early childhood adversity on peripubertal accelerated epigenetic aging and psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 6, 724-733. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.019

Merrill, S. M., Konwar, C., Frihat, Z., Parent, J., Dajani, R. (2025).
Molecular insights into trauma: A framework of epigenetic pathways to resilience through intervention. Cell Med, 6, 100560. doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2024.11.013

DiMarzio, K., Rojo-Wissar, D.M., Hernandez Valencia, E., Ver Pault,
M., Denherder, S., Lopez, A., Lerch, J., Metrailer, G., Merrill, S.,Highlander, A., & Parent, J. (2025). Childhood adversity and adolescent epigenetic age acceleration: The role of adolescent sleep health. Sleep Advances, 6, zpaf003. doi: 10.1093/sleepadvances/zpaf003

Merrill, S., Hogan, C., Bozak, A., Cardenas, A., Comer, J., Bagner, D., Highlander, A., & Parent, J. (2024). Telehealth parenting program and salivary epigenetic biomarkers in preschool children with developmental delay: NIMHD Social Epigenomics Program. JAMA Network Open, 7(7):e2424815. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.24815

Sullivan, A. D.W., Bozak, A., Cardenas, A., Comer, J., Bagner, D., Forehand, R., & Parent, J. (2023). Parenting practices may buffer the impact of adversity on epigenetic age acceleration among young children with developmental delays. Psychological Science, 34, 1173-1185. doi: 10.1177/09567976231194221

See the complete list of publications.

Honors and Awards

  • Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
    (PECASE), White House
  • 2025 Abidin Early Career Research Award and Grant, SCCAP –
    APA Division 53
  • 2020 Association for Psychological Science Rising Star Award
  • 2018 NIH/OBSSR’s Early Stage Investigator Award
  • 2010 McNair Scholar

Selected Student Honors and Awards

  • NIH T32 Fellow – Transdisciplinary Training in Biomedical
    Science and Bioengineering at the University of Rhode Island

    • Adamari Lopez (Primary Mentor)
  • NIH Mental Health Research Dissertation Grant to Enhance
    Workforce Diversity (NIMH R36)

    • Evelyn Hernandez Valencia (Primary Mentor)
  • The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships (F31)
    • Juliana Acosta (Co-Sponsor)
    • Karissa DiMarzio (Sponsor)
    • Jessica Smith (Co-Sponsor)
    • Rachel Girard (Quantitative Mentor)
    • Alexandra Sullivan (Project Mentor)
  • Leonard Krasner Student Dissertation Award, ABCT
    • Chelsea Dale
  • APA Council of Representatives’ Child and Family Caucus Student Research Award
    • Geraldine Cadet

More Information

Download Curriculum Vitae (PDF)