I-LABS Co-Directors, Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff, have been named as 2014 Superheroes by ParentMap magazine. Every April, ParentMap highlights "amazing individuals [who] are making our lives better and our communities stronger through science, poetry, community service, activism and raising awareness."
Pat Kuhl and Andy Meltzoff, a happily married couple of 28 years, are both big thinkers and big dreamers. Their vision helps drive the mission of I-LABS, an interdisciplinary research unit founded in 2004 that brings together experts in cognitive development, social emotional development, linguistic development and brain development. Those four elements, and how they all interact, are what make I-LABS unique in this country.
“We knew that brain development was going to be at the cutting edge, so we wanted to [do that] and early learning. Early learning had a lot of followers, but brain development was a new thing when we were starting this,” says Meltzoff.
I-LABS is now home to a 1-ton MEG Brain-Imaging Center, called a “stethoscope for the brain,” which can safely read the mind of a 7-pound baby, yielding important clues into how, where and when human learning happens.
This loving couple energizes one another as they speak glowingly about each other’s work. The necessity to help parents and providers better understand infants’ and children’s emotions and learning motivates the co-directors to get this information out of the ivory tower and into the hands of parents and educators.
