Dr. Esposito is a program director in the Child Development and Behavior (CDB) Branch where her portfolio includes research on social and emotional development in children and adolescents, child and family processes, human-animal interaction, and childhood obesity.  Dr. Esposito completed her Ph.D. in social psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and master’s degree in clinical psychology at the University of Hartford. Prior to her position at NICHD, Dr. Esposito was a science policy fellow with the Society for Research in Child Development and the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. Her prior research and clinical work focused on peer victimization, aggression, psychosocial functioning and adjustment in children, and child psychopathology.