Alexis Merculiecf
Biography
Dr. Alexis Merculief is an Assistant Professor of Child Behavioral Health at the Ballmer Institute on University of Oregon's Portland campus. Alexis earned her M.S. and PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University, and was an inaugural member of the E3 Equity in Early Childhood Education postdoctoral fellowship at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood. Alexis is an Unangax (Aleut) tribal member and previously worked to promote education, health, and cultural connection for AI/AN children through youth program development at an urban AI/AN health organization in the Northwest.
Alexis is passionate about supporting the mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and behavioral health of young children from American Indian, Alaska Native (AI/AN), and other underserved populations. Alexis' work also supports the wellbeing of early childhood educators and investigates how to increase equity in early childhood education spaces. In her free time, she enjoys trivia and board game nights, being in nature, listening to the Ologies podcast on walks with her dog, Cooper, and exploring the delicious food scene in Portland with her family. Read more about Alexis and her work by visiting her website: https://www.alexismerculief.com/.
Education
2023-2025: Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford Center on Early Childhood
2020-2023: PhD, Human Development and Family Studies, Oregon State University
2017-2020: M.S., Human Development and Family Studies, Oregon State University
2013: B.A., Psychology, Seattle Pacific University
Honors and Awards
Diversity Supplement Award (Dissertation), National Institutes of Health
Role: PhD Student Researcher (Mentee). Lipscomb, S., McClelland, M. M., & Kile, M. (2021-2023). Examining Flame Retardant Exposure, Neurocognitive Effects, and Resilience Factors in Children from Underserved Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds in Preschool. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. PI: Lipscomb.
Native Children's Research Exchange Scholar (2021-2023), Cohort 10. Selected for 18-month fellowship program in Native Children’s Research. Received cultural and academic mentorship and tailored career development training.
Certificate, Tribal Early Childhood Research Summer Institute (2019), Johns Hopkins University Centers for Indigenous Health.
Publications
Merculief, A., Richardson, M., & Quiroz Sierra, V. Indigenous Theories and Frameworks of Human Development: A Scoping Review. [Manuscript in preparation.] Graduate School of Education, Stanford University.
Merculief, A., Omar, J., Aguilar, G., Steyer, L., & Obradovic, J. (In press). Early childhood educator stress, burnout, and racism and inequity beliefs. Early Childhood Education Journal.
DeJoseph, M., Merculief, A., Sulik, M.J., & Obradovic, J. (In press). Understanding learning variability in early childhood: An equity-centered assessment of cognitive regulation among diverse preschool children. Early Education and Development.
Merculief, A., McClelland, M.M., Foster, S.A., Geldhof, G.J., Lipscomb, S.T., Anderson, K., & Kile, M. (2025). Socioeconomic and racial-ethnic disparities in flame retardant exposure and executive function skills in preschool children. Environmental Health, 24(46). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-025-01200-8
Merculief, A., Tsethlikai, M., & Muniz, F. (2024). Applying an Indigenous connectedness framework to examine environmental risk and protective factors for urban American Indian children’s executive function development. Behavioral Sciences, 14(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14121202
Lipscomb, S.T., Merculief, A., & Phelps, B. (2025). Measuring resilience in young children: The Child and Youth Resilience Measure- Early Childhood (CYRM-EC). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 70, 347-357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2024.11.004
Merculief A., Lipscomb S.T., McClelland M.M., Geldhof G.J., &Tsethlikai, M. (2023) Nurturing resilience in American Indian/Alaska Native preschool children: the role of cultural socialization, executive function, and neighborhood risk. Front. Psychol. 14:1279336. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1279336
Martin, T., Merculief, A., Young, R.I., White, L., Marshall, S.M., Waubanascum, C., White, E.J., & Russette, H. (2023). Striving to be Pono (balanced, just, fair, & hopeful): Conceptualizing an indigenous writing process from a Native Hawaiian cultural perspective. Adversity & Resilience Science, 4, 435-458.
Gonzales, C., Merculief, A., Ghetti, S., & McClelland, M.M. (2022). Longitudinal relations between uncertainty monitoring, executive functioning and academic achievement during the transition to kindergarten. Child Development, 93(2), 1-16.
McClelland, M.M., Gonzales, C.R., Cameron, C., Geldhof, G.J., Bowles, R., Nancarrow, A., Merculief, A., & Tracy, A. (2021). The head-toes-knees-shoulders revised (HTKS-R): Links to academic outcomes and measures of EF in young children. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-14.
Research
Alexis is interested in how features of the built and social environment influence young children's behavioral and cognitive health (specifically, executive function skills). Her research examines how sources of cultural resilience can promote mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, and behavioral health for children from American Indian, Alaska Native (AI/AN), and other underserved populations. Alexis' work supports the wellbeing of early childhood educators and investigates how to increase equity in early childhood education spaces. Alexis is also passionate about elevating and promoting Indigenous theory development in the social sciences. Read more about Alexis and her work by visiting her website: https://www.alexismerculief.com/.