Saara Nolvi
 Ph.D (FT), adjunct professor (dos.)

FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study

saara.nolvi@utu.fi

Kiinamyllynkatu 10

Turku

OfficeMed A307/Pub 318

Contact requests by e-mail.

ORCID identifierhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4959-1473

FinnBrain Study

PeCCaPs Study

ResearchGate profile


Areas of expertise
prenatal stress; early life stress; postnatal stress; anxiety; temperament; fear reactivity; executive functioning; socioemotional development; cognitive development; structural equation modelling; milk cortisol; brain structure; amygdala; MRI; fMRI, DTI

Research community or research topic
Centre of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention (InterLearn); Department of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology; the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study.

Biography

Pronouns: she/hers



Research

I am adjunct professor (developmental psychology) and psychologist by background. I currently work as senior researcher in the Academy-funded Centrel of Excellence for Learning Dynamics and Intervention (InterLearn) in the Department of Psychology and Speech-Languge Pathology. I am the principal investigator in the Academy-funded PROSODE project where we explore parental social protective experiences and how they are linked to child self-regulation and brain development. Additionally, I am senior researcher in the PeCCaPS study, where the focus is in family functioning after the child has received diagnosis for pediatric cancer, and family members are being tested for their genetic predispositions for cancer.

My research focuses on early life environmental effects on child self-regulation development and the neural and other biological mechanisms underlying these associations. Particularly, I am interested in the buffering or promotive environmental factors, such as caregiving, parental presence, positive life events, or social support expriences. I am also interested in the inter-individual differences in sensitivity to stress and environment, and how these differences in plasticity are shaped by the environment across development. In

the InterLearn study, we are specifically interested in the longitudinal development of self-regulation and its relation to child mental health and academic functioning. We also aim to identify environmental factors that may buffer from or exacerbate the risk for academic and emotional difficulties. 



Teaching

Teacher education (60 ects); experience from teaching and lecturing from all age groups and educational levels

Taught courses currently:

PSYK3933 Developmental psychology I

PSYK4323 Master's thesis (Psychology)



Publications
  
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Last updated on 14/08/2026 01:43:18 PM