Prof. Jack Shonkoff (Heller) was awarded the C. Anderson Aldrich Award, the highest honor in the area of childhood development given by the American Academy of Pediatrics at a ceremony in Washington on Sunday. Previous recipients of the award include such notables as Erik Erickson, Benjamin Spock, Anna Freud and T. Berry Brazelton. "I was delighted [to win]," Shonkoff said. "It came as a pleasant surprise."

The Aldrich Award, established in 1964, is given for "outstanding contributions to the field of child development." The award is something of a lifetime achievement recognition, and Shonkoff's work stands out even among such distinguished company. Previous winners have been recognized primarily for their contributions to understanding child development through clinical research, but Shonkoff found a way to apply what he discovered to bring tangible change to society.

"I'm one of the few people who used clinical research or work to affect public policy," Shonkoff said. "The heart of my work has become to get beyond the political and party bickering in the policies we undertake."

Shonkoff is best known for his work with a blue ribbon panel based in Washington, which five years ago produced a book titled From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development.

This work argues that two major changes have occurred in recent decades to fundamentally alter the landscape for policy in early childhood development. First, a major increase in the quantity of research in the neurobiological, behavioral and social sciences has enhanced understanding of the ways in which children get off to a positive or negative start to their lives. Second, the ability to use this newly acquired information effectively has been restrained by significant changes in the social and economic conditions in which young children in America find themselves today.

"That [book] is a large part of the culmination of my work," Shonkoff said.

Shonkoff, who served as dean of the Heller School for 11 years until stepping down this year, continues his work in early childhood development as the chairman of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Since Shonkoff is the chair, the council is based at the Heller School. Of all the things he has accomplished, Shonkoff said he is proudest of the fact that his work is in keeping with the mission of the Heller School.

"It's an affirmation of 'knowledge, advancement and social justice,' which is what the Heller School stands for," he said. "[My work] is using knowledge to promote policies. It's a wonderful example of using knowledge to promote social justice.