Moffitt is the Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University (USA) and Professor of Social behavior and Development in the Medical Research Council's Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Center at the Institute of Psychiatry Psychology an Neuroscience King's College London (UK).
Her work on the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study in New Zealand has identified patterns of intimate as well as stranger crime, including discoveries about the role of females as initiators of violence.
Professor Moffitt is also carrying out an important large-scale follow-up of twins in the UK to investigate biological, psychological, and social influences on development.
The first paper showed that children who carried a polymorphism in the MAOA gene were more vulnerable to developing antisocial behavior following exposure to maltreatment during childhood.
[5] The second paper showed that individuals who carried a polymorphism in the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) were more vulnerable to developing depression following exposure to stressful life events.
[7] Moffitt’s research on GxE in the development of antisocial behavior has stimulated a global discussion of the idea of criminal intent and responsibility, as well as raising profound questions about humane strategies for crime prevention among abused children at risk of future violence.
[8] The second Science paper, on the interaction of SLC6A4 and life stress has generated enormous controversy,[9][10] culminating in meta-analyses published in leading journals in psychiatry and medicine.