Jennie Noll
Professor of Psychology and Executive Director of Mt. Hope Family Center | University of Rochester
Rochester, NY, UNITED STATES
Noll is an expert in child maltreatment prevention and child psychology.
Spotlight
Areas of Expertise (5)
Child Abuse Assessment and Reporting
Child Abuse and Neglect
Child Abuse Policy
Child Maltreatment and Trauma
Child Psychology
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Photos:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Links (2)
Biography
Jennie Noll is a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester and the executive director of university's Mt. Hope Family Center (MHFC), which is dedicated to promoting psychological health and preventing maladjustment and mental illness in the lives of children and families within Greater Rochester.
MHFC contracts with the Department of Human Services, local school districts, and pediatric health providers to deliver culturally sensitive mental health and trauma treatments, preventive services, and home-visiting support for at-risk and struggling children, youth, and parents. Partnering with local agencies and families, MHFC co-creates and then, through federal research funds totaling $72M over the past 25 years, rigorously tests novel trauma-responsive interventions that meet the unique needs of the Rochester community. They then provide no-cost trainings for students and practitioners locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally to increase access to these and other evidence-based practices thereby reducing health disparities for the traditionally underserved.
With contiguous NIH funding of $32M as Principal Investigator, Dr. Noll has devoted her career to studying the biopsychosocial impact of child maltreatment and the primary prevention of child sexual abuse.
Before being recruited to MHFC in 2023, Dr. Noll spent a decade at Penn State University in the wake of the Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal as the founding director of a center focused on child maltreatment research and training. Within five years Penn State received the first NIH-funded Center of Excellence in child maltreatment research and training—MHFC was subsequently the second recipient of only three ever awarded.
Dr. Noll’s vision for sustaining over three decades of MHFC’s impact and success includes; an enduring national and international reputation for seamlessly integrating cutting-edge research into their clinical service array, the leveraging of science to impact policies that benefit children and families, a laser-focused vision for making the Rochester community safer and healthier, and a fierce dedication to equipping and inspiring the next generation of trainees and practitioners to do the same.
Education (2)
University of Southern California: PhD, Developmental Psychology/Statistical Methodology 1995
University of Southern California: BA, Psychology 1990
Affiliations (4)
- Australian National Centre for Action on Child Sexual Abuse
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Strategic Working Group - 2018
- Blue Ribbon Commission Advisory Committee on Larry Nassar, CHILD USA - 2018
- Pennsylvania Child Welfare Council - 2017
Selected Media Appearances (2)
A psychologist gives advice to parents following the death of 15-year-old
WHEC-TV tv
2025-03-25
“Social media has exacerbated everything in terms of how peers interact because there are no rules on social media and kids can gang up on each other. Kids can take messages really wrong. There’s a lot that is said and unsaid on social media in terms of what is liked, what is not liked,” Dr. Jennie Noll said. “So the best we can do, is help kids understand that that’s not all there is to communication. That’s not all there is to friendship. And that’s not all there is to my self worth.”
Advice for parents as more kids see porn at a young age
WROC-TV tv
2024-12-17
A recent survey found on average kids in America are first coming across pornography online at age 12. While this finding might surprise some, it does not surprise Jennie Noll, the executive director of Mount Hope Family Center in Rochester.
Selected Articles (3)
The Association Between a Neighborhood Adverse Childhood Experiences Index and Body Mass Index Among New York City Youth
Childhood ObesitySchroeder, K., Demenci, L., Day, S.E., Konty, K., Noll, J.G., Henry, K.A., Suglia, S.F., Wheeler, D.C., Argenio, K., Sarwer, D.B
2024-12-04
A spatial index capturing neighborhood environment factors associated with ACE exposure is associated with higher BMI among NYC youth. Findings complement prior literature about relationships between neighborhood environment and obesity risk, existing research documenting ACE-obesity associations, and the potential for neighborhood factors to be a source of adversity. Collectively, evidence suggests that trauma-informed place-based obesity reduction efforts merit further exploration as potential means to interrupt ACE-obesity associations.
Sex differences in the roles of nicotine use and puberty on youth C-reactive protein levels
Brain, Behavior & Immunity - HealthPham, H.T., Lanza, S.T., Claus, E.D., Heim, C.M., Noll, J.G., Shenk, C.E., Schreier, H.M.C.
2024-10-01
Findings suggest that puberty may influence the effect of nicotine on inflammation in sex-differentiated ways and have implications for timing of prevention and treatment efforts geared toward reducing nicotine use and subsequent inflammation-related health risk among youth.
The intersection of adverse childhood experiences and neighborhood determinants of health: An exploratory spatial analysis
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and PolicySkiendzielewski, K., Forke, C. M., Sarwer, D. B., Noll, J.G., Wheeler, D. C., Henry, K. A., & Schroeder
2024-01-01
Findings suggest future work may benefit from considering neighborhood environments when examining and intervening upon the association between ACEs and poor physical and psychological health.
Social