Dr. H. Isabella Lanza is a developmental psychologist and public health scientist. She is currently an Associate Professor of Human Development and Director of Research for the College of Liberal Arts at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB).

Dr. Lanza joined the Department of Human Development at CSULB in Fall 2014. Prior to joining the faculty at CSULB, Dr. Lanza spent four years at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior as a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Scientist. During this time she also taught at CSU Northridge in the Department of Child & Adolescent Development and at UCLA in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Lanza gained her first teaching experience during her doctoral studies at Temple University. She graduated with a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Temple University in 2010; she earned a M.A. in Clinical Psychology (trained as a Marriage and Family Therapist) from Pepperdine University in 2005 and a B.A. in English and Psychology from Williams College in 2002.

Dr. Lanza’s research seeks to understand the relationship between health-risk behaviors from early adolescence to young adulthood. This work examines biobehavioral and socio-contextual factors that inform developmental processes and pathways to co-occurrence. Dr. Lanza is currently focused on the development of co-occurring obesity and tobacco use (cigarette smoking and nicotine vaping) among adolescents and young adults. She is also interested in the role peers, self-regulation, gender, and ethnicity play on obese adolescents’ developmental outcomes, including the impact of bullying/victimization on psychosocial adjustment and school achievement.

Dr. Lanza loves research, but her life is not complete without teaching. Teaching undergraduates gives her the energy and motivation to keep active in her field. Her favorite courses to teach involve statistics, research methods, history of science, and development from early adolescence through young adulthood.

In her free time, Dr. Lanza’s favorite activities include road trips around the U.S.A., traveling abroad with her husband, hanging out with her dog Carly (she’s a puggle), baking delicious cookies, kayaking, hiking (more like strolling) through Southern California, quasi-learning French, ‘reading’ books on Audible, and spending time with her awesome 10-year-old nephew.