Research Overview:

In the Child Neurodevelopment Research Lab we conduct research about cognitive and psychosocial functioning of children with particular genetic conditions and also work on intervention development to address core areas in need of support. We incorporate approaches from the fields of developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, child clinical psychology, and child neuropsychology.

Our research has included:

(1) behavioral phenotyping research, describing of the social, emotional, and cognitive strengths and weaknesses of children with particular neurodevelopmental disorders, to lay groundwork for genotype-phenotype investigations.

(2) treatment development research, examining the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for use with children with specific rare genetic conditions.

Our current projects focus on two populations:

• Children and adolescents with Williams syndrome
• Children and adolescents with neurofibromatosis type 1

In the coming year, the lab’s primary focus will be on our treatment development study of play- and humor-infused gradual exposure therapy with children with Williams syndrome, including:

• Effectiveness of dissemination of the intervention to community clinicians
• Development of materials to support clinicians working with children with Williams syndrome who speak languages other than English (beginning with Spanish and French)

Projects with current manuscript-writing include:

• Neural underpinnings of attention in children with NF1
• Effect of play- and humor-infused exposure therapy on fears and anxieties of young children with Williams syndrome
• Effect of play- and humor-infused exposure therapy for child fears and anxieties on parental distress and avoidance
• Psychopathology among children with Duplication 7q11.23 syndrome or Williams syndrome

Training and Mentorship:

Graduate students in the Child Neurodevelopment Research Lab typically have research and clinical interests related to child neuropsychology, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and/or social and emotional development in atypical populations. There are also opportunities for training and experiences in cognitive-behavioral interventions for children with Williams syndrome or neurofibromatosis type 1.

Students in the lab can emerge from their studies with child therapy training, child neuropsychology assessment training, autism spectrum disorder differential diagnostic skills (if interested), manuscript-writing experience, and grant-writing experience. The depth of experiences in each of these areas is tailored according to student interests and depends on the nature of the current studies at any given time.

The majority of research within the lab takes place highly collaboratively. Students typically begin their graduate school time in the lab working with archival data and ongoing data collection, together with fellow graduate students, to learn about the research aims of the ongoing projects as well as typical data collection procedures and approaches and database organization. Over the course of their graduate studies, students gain greater independence in research questions, design, implementation, and data interpretation, and take the lead in organizing and overseeing project teams.

Mentorship relationships in the lab are rooted in mutual respect. I aim to foster developmentally-congruent autonomy while also providing effective support, supervision, and feedback. I am committed to ongoing conversations about ways to meet students’ career priorities, short and long term goals, interests related to diversity and inclusion activities within the field of clinical psychology, and mentorship needs.

I am particularly interested in prospective students who enjoy tackling research questions and intend to continue to blend research and clinical work in the future. Experience with poster preparation and presentation, or completion of a senior thesis, is highly desirable, as a way of demonstrating experience with a range of aspects of the research process. Further, I especially encourage applications from students who will contribute to the diversification of the field of clinical psychology (including but not limited to students from minoritized backgrounds, first generation college students, students from rural settings, students who are multilingual).

I am planning to take a new student during the current admissions season, to begin graduate school in the 2025-26 academic year.