April S. Masarik, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychological Science

Researcher | Teacher | Developing Human

ABOUT ME

Hello and thanks for visiting! I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at Boise State University. I've been "professoring" since 2015 and love my job because I get to conduct research, teach students, and learn from them too. My academic training began at Boise State University, where I graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 2007. Full circle!

I earned my Ph.D. in Human Development (2014) and a M.S. in Child Development (2011) from the University of California, Davis. After graduate school, I was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Family Research Group at UC Davis. My research centers on stress and resilience, dynamics in close relationships, intergenerational transmission, and the social, cultural, and biological influences on development. I am the Director of the Human Development and Ecology Lab, where I conduct research with an interdisciplinary team of faculty, students, and community stakeholders. We are currently focused on investigating the factors that influence health and well-being among refugee youth and families.

At Boise State University, I regularly teach courses in Child Development, Multicultural Perspectives on Children and Families, and Research Methods. To date, I have had the privilege of teaching over 1,000 students in my courses and have mentored nearly 100 students in research and teaching. In 2019, I was a Top Ten Scholar Honored Faculty Member.

I am on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Youth and Adolescence and a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Council on Family Relations, and the Society for Research in Child Development to name a few. I also enjoy working in the community as a Board Member for Tidwell Social Work and Consulting Services, a non-profit organization that provides trauma-informed and culturally sensitive mental health care and community healing programs.

In my free time, I like to get outside (camping, backpacking, running), explore the planet (travel!), and hang with my family, friends, and dog Gus.