I am a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Chair of the Human Development Graduate Group, and Associate Director of the Center for Mind and Brain at UC Davis. I received my BS in Psychology from Skidmore College in 1995, where my desire to be a developmental science researcher was launched. I then worked as a full-time research assistant at MDRC in New York City on national evaluations of welfare-to-work programs for low-income families. In 2003, I received my Ph.D. in Psychology (Developmental) from Yale University, under the mentorship of Professor Edward Zigler, and then completed 6 years of postdoctoral training in the Intramural Program of the National Institute of Mental Health with Dr. Daniel Pine.

I have dedicated most of my career to understanding risk and protective factors in the development of psychopathology during adolescence. My graduate training focused on understanding children’s social-information processing and development of behavior problems in the context of poverty and parental maltreatment. My postdoctoral training expanded this training with a focus on brain function and structure in relation to psychopathology. My current work brings these lines of work full circle such that I have been studying the influence of social-contextual factors during childhood (e.g., poverty, discrimination, types of parenting, and peer relationships) on brain function and structure during adolescence, and their associations with adolescents’ processing of social-emotional information and development of depression, anxiety and substance use.

I find working with undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students and trainees from all backgrounds to be highly rewarding because they bring new ways of thinking and approaching problems to the scientific inquires we pursue in my lab, and I am bestowed with the important opportunity to scaffold and support their career development through mentoring and guidance.

Inclusion Statement 

My research includes a focus on neurobiological development and risk for psychopathology in diverse populations. I am examining neurobiological indices that are sensitive to social and cultural contextual factors in Mexican-origin adolescents at risk for depression or substance use. I am also studying depression risk in an all-female sample of adolescents that is largely African-American and from low-income neighborhoods. I teach about diversity-related variation during middle childhood and adolescence in domains of development (e.g. identity) and in contexts (e.g. peers, neighborhoods). The majority of trainees in my lab are of diverse backgrounds, and I have participated with several trainees in various mechanisms focused on increasing inclusion and communication about diversity-related issues.

Selected Publications

A selected list of Dr. Guyer's publications is available here.

Grants

Guyer, A.E. and Hostinar, C., Seed Grant Co-Principal Investigators. "Uncovering the Negative Effects of Digital Media on Adolescent Social and Mental Health via a Natural Experiment" UC Davis Center for Mind & BrainAmount awarded: $10,000 03/1/26-10/31/27

Hostinar, C. (PI) and Guyer, A.E. (Co-PI). "Understanding the Development of Social Disconnection in Youth." National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD104185) 08/01/2021-04/30/2026

Swartz, J.R. (PI) and Guyer, A.E. (Co-PI) "Risk and protective factors associated with the development of depression and allostatic load in young adults of Mexican origin." National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH123530)  07/15/2021-04/30/2025

Hostinar, C. and Tagkopouos, I. (Co-PI), Guyer, A.E. (Co-Investigator). “Predicting Adolescent Depression Using Machine Learning”. R21 research grant of $179,604. National Institute of Mental Health.

Nyman, T. (PI), Guyer, A.E. (Co-Mentor). “Time Lag as a Moderator of Parental Control and SES on Child Anxiety Outcomes”. F31 MH124342 research grant award of $35,554. National Institute of Mental Health.

Solomon, M. (PI), Guyer, A.E. “Neural and Behavioral Predictors of Cognitive Dvelopment and Internalizing Problems in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” R01 grant award of $3,872.709. National Institute of Mental Health.

Recent Accomplishments

Recognized as 2019 Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science

Co-Investigator (Multiple Principal Investigators: Prado, Adu-Afarwuah) on a new grant called "Neural mechanisms of protective effects of early nutrition on the development of social-emotional difficulties among children in Ghana," funded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD099811), 09/04/19-06/30/24, amount awarded: $2,629,078. 

Recent Publications (*student co-author)

Book Chapter

 Guyer, A. E., Beard, S. J., & Venticinque, J. S. (2022). Brain development during adolescence and early adulthood. In L. J. Crockett, G. Carlo, & J. E. Schulenberg, APA Handbook of Adolescent and Young Adult Development. 

Journal Articles

Arrington, M. N.*, Swartz, J. R., Fine, J. R., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Contextualizing the adolescent social brain: links to social health using data from the ABCDⓇ study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. '

Yoon, L.*, Magee, K. E., Stepp, S. D., Forbes, E. E., Keenan, K. E., Hipwell, A. E., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Within-person longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and problematic interpersonal behaviors in adolescent girls. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

Nti, H., Hastings, P. D., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Adjetey, E., Amponsah, B., Arnold, C. D., Aryee, L. M. D., Labi, F., B. A., Bentil, H. J., Dewey, K., Guyer, A. E., Manu, A., Mensah, M. O., Prado, E. L., Shirtcliff, E., Tan, X., & Oaks, B. M. (2026). Effect of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation on children's cortisol concentration. Maternal and Child Nutrition. doi: 10.1111/mcn.70197

Qian, Y.*, Swartz, J. R., Barendse, M. E. A., Taylor, S. L., Fine, J. R., Ruttle, P. L, Shirtcliff, E. A., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Effects of sex, pubertal stage, and pubertal hormones on frontal and limbic responses to fearful and happy faces during early adolescence. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107866

Frazier, M. R., Guyer, A. E., Hastings, P. D., Robins, R. W., & Swartz, J. R. (2026). Associations between adolescent adversity and young adult depression symptoms and allostatic load in Mexican-origin individuals. Psychoneuroendocrinology. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2026.107832

Mensah, M. O., Adjetey, E., Aryee, L. M. D., Arnold, C. D., Prado, E. L., Hastings, P. D., Guyer, A. E., Oaks, B. M., Nti, H., Bentil, H. J., Fajardo, J., & Adu-Afarwuah, S. (2026). Economic, socio-emotional, and food security conditions during COVID-19 pandemic among caregivers of young adolescents aged 10-12 yrs in a semi-urban setting in Ghana. BMC Public Health, 26(1):1136. doi: 10.1186/s12889-026-26873-9

Ayete Labi, F. B. A.*, Midrigan-Ciochina, L.*, Prado, E. L., Adu-Afarwuah, S., Dewey, K. G., Arnold, C. D., Manu, A., Angmorterh, S. K., Arko-Mensah, J., Mensah, M. O., Nti, H., Aryee, L. M. D., Mensah, Y. B., Appiah, B. A., Atawone, D., Azantilow, N., Oaks, B. M., Amponsah, B., Hastings, P. D., & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Randomized prenatal and postnatal nutrient supplementation shows no long-term impact on cortical gray matter in Ghanian children. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1672317

Arrington, M. N.*, Nishina, A., Hostinar, C. E. & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Identifying patterns and predictors of social health in adolescence using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. Developmental Psychology. doi: 10.1037/dev0002139

Venticinque, J. S.*, Arrington, M.*, & Guyer, A. E. (2026). Implicit peer versus maternal influence on adolescents’ preferences: Differences by age and gender. Developmental Psychology, 62, 365-379. doi: 10.1037/dev0002052

Other News

May 26, 2026. Face to Face with Chancellor May Talk Show, UC Davis Researcher Explores How Brain Development Shapes Teen Mental Health https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/podcasts-and-shows/face-to-face/uc-davis-researcher-explores-how-brain-development-shapes-teen-mental-health 

February 24, 2026. The Independent. Lonely teens are more likely to lash out at others - and boys are disproportionately impacted on both side. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/teen-mental-health-loneliness-aggression-b2926784.html 

February 23, 2026. News Medical Life Sciences. Family conflict and loneliness shape adolescent-peer relationships. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260223/Family-conflict-and-loneliness-shape-adolescent-peer-relationships.aspx 

February 23, 2026. UC Davis News, Adolescent Social Health May Foretell Loneliness, Aggressive Behavior, Study Suggests. https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/adolescent-social-health-may-foretell-loneliness-and-aggressive-behavior-uc-davis-study