Invest Visitor: Laura K. Taylor

Professor Laura K. Taylor visited INVEST to deepen collaboration on research supporting children affected by conflict

We were delighted to welcome Professor Laura K. Taylor from University College Dublin, Ireland, to INVEST as a visiting fellow.

Taylor is a Professor in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin and Principal Investigator of the Helping Kids! lab. Her research examines how adversity, including political violence, shapes the lives of children, families and communities, and how people respond and adapt in challenging environments. Her work is grounded in more than 15 years of applied, cross-cultural research and brings together perspectives from psychology, peace studies and child development.

An internationally recognised scholar in her field, Taylor has published extensively on children’s wellbeing in contexts of adversity and secured over €10 million in research funding from major funders such as Horizon Europe, Research Ireland and UKRI. Most recently, she was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant for her new project, GENERATION EU, which will launch in September 2026.

Taylor’s visit to INVEST was rooted in long-standing shared research interests with Professor Kirsi Peltonen, whose work she had followed and admired for years. The visit offered their first opportunity to meet in person and discuss their overlapping research on the psychosocial wellbeing of children and adolescents, particularly in contexts shaped by adversity, displacement and intergroup conflict.

Their collaboration builds on existing connections: Peltonen has served on the Global Advisory Board of Taylor’s ongoing project, GENERATION PEACE, which explores how young people are not only affected by conflict but also act as agents of positive social change and peacebuilding across four countries.

During her visit, Taylor, Peltonen and their teams exchanged ideas around their shared expertise in evaluating interventions designed to support children affected by war and displacement. The visit also provided valuable space to develop a joint funding application that brings together their complementary strengths: Peltonen’s work on trauma-sensitive responses after displacement and Taylor’s research on prosocial behaviour and peacebuilding.

Together, this emerging collaboration aims to develop new approaches to breaking cycles of violence and social exclusion and to strengthen support for children and young people growing up in contexts of conflict and forced displacement.

Beyond the academic collaboration, Taylor also enjoyed her first visit to Finland, including the chance to learn a little Finnish (“Kiitos!”) and discover local favourites such as Karelian pastries at the Turku Market Hall.

We warmly thank Laura for her visit and look forward to continuing this important collaboration.