Dr. Fernald has been working in the field of global public health for over 20 years focusing specifically on infants and children in low- and middle-income countries, with the overarching goal of improving lives of vulnerable children through systemic, strategic, and effective interventions. Dr. Fernald’s research uses rigorous methodological approaches to design and examine integrated interventions to address inequalities, health disparities and child development outcomes.

For example, Dr. Fernald has conducted research examining the effects of community mobilization, conditional cash transfer programs, microcredit programs, and community-based nutrition supplementation on infant and child development. Dr. Fernald recently served on the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine panel entitled, “Global Health and the Future Role of the United States,” and led the writing team for the chapter on Women and Children’s Health. Dr. Fernald was lead author on the book published by the World Bank entitled, “A Toolkit for Measuring Early Childhood Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries”, and was part of the steering committee for the Lancet series on Early Child Development in 2011 and again in 2019. Her research has been focused in Africa (Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, South Africa), Asia (Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Indonesia), and Latin America (Mexico, Ecuador, Peru & Chile).