Kimberly Noble, Professor of Neuroscience and Education, has been named the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child and Parent Development and Education, effective January 1, 2026.
Established in 1991, the Virginia and Leonard Marx Chair is named for Virginia Marx, alumna of Teachers College, and her husband, Leonard Marx, both of whom were deeply committed to enhancing the lives of children. This chair is awarded to an individual with exceptional scholarship and teaching in the field of child and parent development, and was held for the past 34 years by renowned developmental psychologist Jeanne Brooks-Gunn until her retirement in August 2025.
“Professor Noble’s record defines excellence. Teachers College is so fortunate to have Dr. Noble as a scholar, teacher, mentor and thought-leader within our community," shared KerryAnn O'Meara, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of the College. "The Baby’s First Years Project is an extraordinary model of rigorous science with direct impact on public policy. This Virginia and Leonard Marx Chair so fittingly recognizes Dr. Noble’s leadership and many contributions in the field of child and parent development.”
As a part of her chair, Noble will also be affiliated with the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, currently co-directed by Sharon Lynn Kagan, Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy, at Teachers College. “It is with abundant joy that I welcome Kim Noble as a Virginia and Leonard Marx Chair; no one could be more worthy of this incredible honor and I so look forward to working with her,” noted Kagan.
Noble is a neuroscientist and pediatrician, specializing in how socioeconomic inequities relate to children’s cognitive, emotional and brain development across infancy, childhood and adolescence. She directs the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development (NEED) lab, and leads groundbreaking research as one of the principal investigators of Baby’s First Years, which is the first clinical trial of a poverty reduction intervention in early childhood in the United States. This large-scale, randomized controlled trial investigates the effects of monthly unconditional cash transfers on young children’s development and maternal well-being. The study has already yielded high-impact findings regarding the effect of cash transfers on infant brain activity, and is helping to shape public policy.
In 2022, Noble testified before a New York State Joint Public Hearing on the findings from the study and the need to extend the New York State child tax credit to children under four years of age, who had until that time been excluded from this benefit. Shortly thereafter, the Empire State Child Credit was passed to include children from 0-3, and has been expanded for the current fiscal year. She has successfully secured tremendous research funding, both from federal sources, including major R01 grants from the NICHD, and more than a dozen private foundations.
In addition to her research and scholarship, Noble has received prestigious honors such as the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (Senior Career) and the Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. She also received the Stern Award for her “groundbreaking research on mitigating the impact of socioeconomic inequality on cognitive and brain development.” Her work has achieved global visibility, evidenced by her widely viewed TED Talk (over 2.5 million views) and extensive coverage in major media outlets worldwide. She has given numerous invited talks and keynote lectures globally, and has consulted for organizations like Sesame Workshop and the National Academies of Sciences.
Noble’s commitment to supporting the development of scholars is evident in her service as Professor of Neuroscience and Education and the Program Director for Developmental Psychology at the College. She is advisor to more than 20 students, has graduated seven doctoral students and has been an active mentor to numerous post-doctoral fellows and doctoral students, many of whom have gone on to win major awards like the NIH K99/R00 or NSF Graduate Student Research Program awards. Noble has also been instrumental in helping TC to attract talented candidates for tenure-track positions and secure their hires, and she has mentored many early career faculty at the College through the tenure process, and grant applications. She has also profoundly shaped the curriculum and TC research policy.
Noble received her undergraduate, graduate and medical degrees at the University of Pennsylvania and completed her residency in pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She previously served as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Sergievsky Center, Columbia University and as an Attending Pediatrician, New York-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Upon being named to the professorship, Noble reflected: "Professor Jeanne Brooks-Gunn has been one of my academic heroes for the last 25 years, since I was in graduate school myself. To follow in her footsteps in receiving this chair is extremely humbling, and I look forward to collaborating with Sharon Lynn Kagan, the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy, through my affiliation with the National Center for Children and Families. I am so very honored and grateful to be part of our wonderful community of colleagues at TC."