W. Justin Dyer received his PhD in human and community development from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, after which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University. Following this, he joined the faculty in the BYU School of Family, where he taught courses on family processes and statistical methodology. He became part of the Religious Education faculty in 2015. His research includes fatherhood with a particular emphasis on fathers in stressful circumstances such as fathers of children with disabilities and incarcerated fathers. He is also the principal investigator for the Family Foundations of Youth Development project, a longitudinal study examining how family functioning influences youth development with a particular interest in how their faith develops from early adolescence to early adulthood and how faith and mental health (particularly suicidality) influence each other.