I hold a B.A. in European history, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.D. from the Yale School of Medicine. I am author of a medical textbook (see book; read reviews); have worked and published research in epidemiology; and taught for eight years in the Department of Medicine at Yale.

My interest in the links between childhood and religion arose by serendipity. In 1992, while reading casually in Christian theology, I was struck by thematic parallels between core Christian teachings and historically widespread patterns of childhood corporal punishment. My work in epidemiology had sensitized me to the significance of such parallels; and my immediate sense was that these parallels were too precise and extensive to have arisen by chance. I began first to ponder, and then to seriously explore, how these parallels could have arisen.  I soon noted and began to investigate similar parallels in other religions.

My work is informed by a rigorous intellectual interest in religion, history, and psychology; and by a deeply personal, empathetic concern for the plight of children, past and present.