Fonda Davis Eyler, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Faculty, Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies
Professor Emeritus, College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Biography
Dr. Fonda Davis Eyler is a clinical developmental psychologist and a professor emeritus of pediatrics, College of Medicine. Her research has focused on the effects on development of early and on-going risk and protective factors. For nearly two decades, she and colleague Dr. Marylou Behnke, M.D., were funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse-National Institute of Health for a longitudinal cohort study of the effects on children of maternal cocaine use during pregnancy. From 1988 until 2011, she directed the North Central Early Steps Program and in that capacity represented the interests of children with disabilities and their families at regional and state levels.
Dr. Eyler has also mentored many junior faculty, medical fellows, and doctoral and undergraduate students and has been active in governance at the department, college, and university levels, serving on the UF Faculty Senate and as President of the College of Medicine Faculty Council. Dr. Eyler has an extensive publication record with more than 55 refereed articles and chapters. She has served on numerous review boards and panels, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development special review committees.
Dr. Eyler continues to be involved in leadership with the Center affiliated faculty. She was a core faculty member for the UF Post-Doctoral Research Training Fellowship in Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education. In that position, she mentored several post-doctoral students in the program. Dr Eyler has also served on several graduate student dissertation committees at the Center. The database from her and Dr. Behnke’s longitudinal study is now housed at the Center and has provided data for research and instruction at the Center.
Review Panels, Advisory Boards, Committees and Consulting
National
Elected Membership, American Pediatric Society, 2004
Member, Review Committee, National Institute on Drug Abuse
Member, Review Committee, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
State
Director, North Central Early Steps, 1988-2011
Local
North Central Florida Chapter of Florida Psychological Association, Executive Board, 2002-2004
Grants
Brain Development, Behavior and Cognition in Pre- and Post-natal Cocaine Exposure Funded by National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, R21DA027561 (9/15/2009-9/14/2013)
Role: Site Co-Principal Investigator
Award: $934,862
Early Steps Primary Service Provider Project
Funded by Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Center for Early Intervention and Prevention, Florida State University (05/01/09-12/31/09)
Role: Principal Investigator
Award: $37,312
Training in Treatment Outcome Research with Child Populations
Funded by National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, T32HD007524 (5/01/2003-4/3/2008)
Role: Core Training Faculty
Award: $880,000
Project CARE
Funded by National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 3R0 DA05854 (3/01/2002-2/28/2008)
Role: Principal Investigator
Award: $3,515,777
Selected Publications
Warner, T. D., Behnke, M., Eyler, F. D., & Szabo, N. (2011). Pre-adolescent cocaine use as determined by hair analysis in a prenatal cocaine exposure cohort. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 33(1), 88-99. https://doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2010.07.003
Eyler, F. D., Warner, T. D., Behnke, M., Hou, W., Wobie, K., & Garvan, C. W. (2009). Executive functioning at ages 5 and 7 years in children with prenatal cocaine exposure. Developmental Neuroscience, 31, 121-136. https://doi:10.1159/000207500
Warner, T. D., Behnke, M., Eyler, F. D., Padgett, K. R., Hou, W., Garvan, C. W., Leonard, C. M., & Schmalfuss, I. M. (2006). Diffusion tensor imaging of frontal white matter and executive functioning in cocaine-exposed children. Pediatrics 118(5), 2014-2024. https://doi:10.1542/peds.2006-0003
Selected Links
Department of Pediatrics » College of Medicine » University of Florida (ufl.edu)
Degrees
Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology, University of Florida, 1979
M.A. in Psychology, California State University at San Jose, 1973
B.A. in Psychology, Mary Washington College, University of Virginia, 1967
Key UF Professional Appointments
Professor Emeritus, College of Medicine, Pediatrics Department, 2011 – present
Leadership Team, Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies, 2010 – present
University of Florida Research Foundation Professorship, 2006-2009
Member, Faculty Senate, College of Medicine, 1994-1996; 2002-2004
President, College of Medicine Faculty Council Executive Committee, 2005-2006
Selected Honors, Awards and Appointments
Distinguished Psychologist Award, North Central Florida Psychological Association, 2006
Woman of Distinction Award, UF Association of Academic Women, 2005
Top 100 Funded Researcher, University of Florida, 1992, 1993