Linda Zhao is one of four Harvard doctoral students who has been awarded the inaugural Djokovic Science and Innovation Fellowship from The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University and the Novak Djokovic Foundation.

Linda’s research explores inequality in birth outcomes, including time-sensitive pathways that precede preterm birth, connecting individual risk factors, social environment, and biological indicators of preterm birth. Her research seeks to determine the extent to which neighborhoods are indicators or causes of low birth weight, and whether different neighborhood contexts might increase or diminish certain types of individual risk. Her research will further investigate whether different social risks translate to different types of pregnancy abnormalities leading up to preterm birth, helping to translate knowledge between sociology and clinical medicine. Her novel approach may help guide policymakers on specific actions or interventions to improve child health.

From 2007-2016, Harvard's Center for the Developing Child awarded Julius B. Richmond Fellowships to 38 doctoral students in support of their science, education, and policy research and scholarly development. Starting with the 2017-18 school year, the new Djokovic Science and Innovation Fellowship program will expand and build on that 10-year legacy by integrating a new emphasis on innovation and application of research. In an effort to contribute new, science-based innovations in early childhood development, the Djokovic Science and Innovation Fellowship will build the capacity of emerging leaders to conduct cutting-edge research, translate and communicate research into policy and practice, and create and test new strategies that drive the field forward. Richmond Fellows will become a part of a larger network of the alumni of both fellowships.

Previous Richmond Fellows include:
2016-17: Kelley Fong
2014-15: Beth Truesdale
2013-14: Benjamin Sosnaud