She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2012 and her B.A. in Computer Science & Psychology from Yale University in 2005. Dr. Gunderson’s research focuses on the cognitive and socio-emotional factors that affect young children’s academic achievement, especially in the domain of mathematics. She is currently investigating how visuo-spatial skills relate to children’s early number knowledge; how verbal interactions facilitate preschoolers’ development of number concepts; and how parental interactions impact children's skills and motivation in math and spatial domains. Dr. Gunderson's research is currently funded by the National Science Foundation.