Research Overview

Dr. Messinger is an interdisciplinary developmental psychologist, and the author of over 120 scientific publications appearing in journals such as Scientific Reports, Developmental Science, and Molecular Autism. He uses machine learning to paint an objective picture of children’s interaction and employs computational models to understand how repeated interactions become development over time. Dr. Messinger has extensive experience leading longitudinal research initiatives funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Institute of Education Sciences.

Dr. Messinger is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of scientists; and has served as primary advisor for 16 doctoral students (including one NSF Fellow and two NIH Fellows), four postdocs, and a physician-scientist. Dr. Messinger serves as Director of the Child Division in the Department of Psychology Program at the University of Miami. He loves talking to prospective graduate students, postdocs, and other researchers. Dr. Messinger investigates the temporal dynamics of communication to understand infants’ and children’s social, emotional, and language development.