Dr. Dougherty is the Director of the Big Emotions Across Development (BEAD) Lab. Dr. Dougherty's research is in the field of developmental psychopathology and broadly examines the phenomenology, etiology and course of depression from a developmental, lifespan perspective. Dr. Dougherty has three primary lines of research: (1) the phenomenology, etiology, pathophysiology, course, and measurement of youth irritability and mood dysregulation; (2) the role of early life stress and the body’s stress physiology in child neurodevelopment and risk for psychopathology, and (3) preschool mental health. Her research employs prospective longitudinal designs and a diverse range of methods to assess multiple levels of analysis to understand child psychopathology and functioning, including developmental neuroimaging (fMRI, structural MRI, resting-state functional connectivity), physiological markers of the body’s stress response system (salivary and hair cortisol), immune system function (C-reactive protein, CRP), behavioral observations, and cognitive assessments. Moreover, across these primary research domains, her research strives to understand children’s mental health within the context of the environment, including the parent-child relationship, family stress, and socioeconomic adversity.