Philip David Zelazo is the Nancy M. and John E. Lindahl Professor in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota. He studies the development and neural bases of executive function, or the conscious control of thought, action, and emotion. His work has focused on a number of influential ideas, including the notion that the executive function depends, in part, on the development of the ability to use increasingly complex, higher-order rules.

Maria D. Sera is a full professor in the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota.?Her research focuses on the relation between language and cognitive development.