I study how babies and toddlers develop emotionally in their daily relational ecosystems.

Human development relies on millions of daily, moment-to-moment interactions with parents, grandparents, educators, and other caregivers.

As a developmental cognitive and affective neuroscientist, I study the brain-behavior mechanisms shaping children’s emotional development in their early relationships.

As a policy advocate, I help translate existing science into publicly funded programs (child care, pre-K, Head Start) to ensure that all young children have access to ideal learning environments that support their development.

I occasionally consult as a strategist on projects related to the protection and expansion of democracy in the US, and I am interested in building bridges between affective science and political strategy for progressive causes.

I am committed to racial equity and inclusion in science and policy.

LEAD Lab, University of Maryland

2022 – Present

Working with Dr. Rachel Romeo, I am leading a caregiver-toddler fNIRS hyperscanning study investigating:

  • how caregiver-child prefrontal cortex synchrony varies in the context of proximal and distal stressors

  • how variability in caregiver sensitivity relates to caregiver-child prefrontal cortex synchrony across stressor contexts

  • how synchrony across prefrontal cortex synchrony and emotional behavior are related to children’s emotion regulation skills

Publications:

  • Roche EC, Redcay E, Romeo RR. Caregiver-child neural synchrony: Magic, mirage, or developmental mechanism? Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 2025 Jan;71:101482. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101482.

Early Learning Project, Georgetown University

2020 - 2022

Working with Dr. Rachel Barr, I published several analyses of infant affective state during video chat Zooms with grandparents during COVID-19.

Publications:

  • Roche, E., J. Rocha-Hidalgo, D. Piper, et al. 2022. “Presence at a Distance: Video Chat Supports Intergenerational Sensitivity and Positive Infant Affect During COVID-19.” Infancy 27, no. 6: 1008–1031. https://doi.org/10.1111/infa.12491.

  • Strouse, G. A., McClure, E., Myers, L. J., Zosh, J. M., Troseth, G. L., Blanchfield, O., Roche, E., Malik, S., & Barr, R. (2021). Zooming through development: Using video chat to support family connections. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 268(4), 552–571. hbe2. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbe2.268

Trust for Learning

2018 - present

At Trust for Learning I support a community of advocates around the country to translate developmental science into policy and philanthropic practice.

I serve on the Steering Committee for the Early Relational Health philanthropic working group, the Racial Equity committee of the Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, and the Council on Addressing Racism in the Early Years hosted by Boston University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Harvard University.

Publications: