An existing and growing body of research underscores the imperative to better understand how exposures starting at fetal development through infancy and childhood impact the health we experience into adulthood. At our annual Straus Lecture in December, we had the opportunity to hear from Laura Stroud, Ph.D. of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and The Miriam Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island. Duringher virtual presentation, she provided a thoughtful overview of the available body of evidence on the long-term implications of stress and adversity experienced during early development on our physiology, brain, and health across the lifespan.