Nurturing the Science of Maternal Health Laura Glynn has spent two decades studying how care shapes development, and for her, that science doesn’t stay in the lab. She brings that same philosophy to her research, her teaching, and now to leading Crean College.

Someone has given birth to every human on the planet. Yet what pregnancy does to a mother’s brain, mood, and long-term health — and what that means in turn for her child — remains one of medicine’s most overlooked areas of research. For Laura Glynn, that gap was an irresistible invitation, one she first noticed as a postdoctoral fellow studying premature birth. Her work has connected the dots that medicine had long overlooked, linking a placental hormone to postpartum depression and tracing how a mother’s prenatal mood swings can shape her child’s behavior. 

Now, more than two decades later, Glynn has authored more than 130 research publications and acted as an investigator on 17 National Institutes of Health-funded studies. She has served as chair of the psychology department, faculty fellow in the Office of Research, and associate dean of research at Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences. This fall, she took on her most prominent role yet: interim dean.  

“I’m excited about this opportunity,” said Glynn, Ph.D., professor of psychology, whose interim leadership appointment follows Janeen Hill’s long and distinguished impact in the dean role. “One of the reasons I agreed to step into this role is because of our terrific faculty and students who contribute to our robust undergraduate and graduate programs.”  

For Glynn, research has never existed in isolation. At Chapman, she has built her career around the teacher-scholar model — the idea that the best researchers are the ones still in the classroom and still doing the work. For students, that means learning from someone at the front edge of her field, one of the many advantages of a Chapman education. 

FINDING HER FOCUS  

Before Glynn became one of the nation’s leading maternal health researchers, she was like many undergraduates, struggling to find her direction.  

“I went undeclared and had a terrible time deciding what major to pick,” Glynn said. Economics eventually won out, but not for long.  

In her fourth year, she took a class taught by Linda Acredolo, an internationally recognized scholar in the field of child development, and that changed everything. By the end of the semester, Glynn was working in Acredolo’s lab and rethinking her future. She went on to earn a doctorate in experimental psychology, then turned down a tenure-track position to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship on an NIH-funded study examining premature birth.  

It was there that she found her focus. Pregnancy, she realized, was a fascinating and largely unexplored intersection of biology and psychology, where hormones, cardiovascular systems, and immune systems all change dramatically. Yet, at the time, few researchers were paying attention.  

“In my opinion, that was a huge gap,” Glynn said. 

FILLING THE GAPS  

“Since joining Chapman, Laura has pursued a highly ambitious, interdisciplinary, and internationally renowned research agenda,” said Hill, Ph.D., former dean of Crean College.  

Her research has shed light on how hormonal shifts during and after pregnancy contribute to postpartum depression, how prenatal stress shapes a child’s risk for mental health disorders, and how unpredictable early environment leaves a measurable imprint on a child’s development.  

“We can’t solve these big problems without interdisciplinary work,” Glynn said.  

That interdisciplinary approach is built into every stage of her research, from the questions she asks to the grants she writes. Her goal is for this science to travel beyond the lab to clinicians, policymakers, and the families who need it most. Glynn recently developed a Spanish-language version of a childhood unpredictability questionnaire to extend her research to communities that might otherwise go unreached.  

“I have a dream of translating my work into clinical practice in some way,” Glynn said. 

IN THE CLASSROOM  

The connection between research and teaching is inseparable for Glynn.  

More than 50 undergraduate or post- baccalaureate researchers have been trained under Glynn’s mentorship at Chapman, many of whom have published independent research and gone on to doctoral programs.  

“The best teaching is done when people are at the forefront of their field and able to integrate that in the classroom,” Glynn said. “It allows you to be fully informed and give the best information to your students.”  

Her philosophy while mentoring researchers is reminiscent of what she experienced as an undergraduate: let students wander down curious pathways to discover new connections and interests.  

“Dr. Glynn is an incredible mentor,” said Sophie Srivastava ’22, now in a doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Denver. “It’s rare for a post-bac to get to publish, and I feel really grateful to have gotten that opportunity.” 

LEADING CREAN COLLEGE  

Glynn’s investment in others’ growth extends beyond the classroom and, after 18 years at Chapman, as researcher, mentor, and administrator, she is focused on what comes next for the college, its faculty, and its students as interim dean.  

“I’m looking forward to working collaboratively with my chairs, faculty, and students to make it a great year,” Glynn said.  

Hill believes she is ready for it: “She is committed to mentoring others and passing on knowledge to ensure her experience helps others succeed. She will be an impressive, thoughtful, and respected leader of Crean College.”