Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDDs), Including Autism Spectrum Disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders are disabilities that are typically diagnosed in childhood and are characterized by impairments of social communication, learning and other behaviors. Autism spectrum disorder alone is more common than pediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined, and is estimated cost to the U.S. of $461 billion by 2025. UC Davis has great depth and strength in the basic and clinical research of NDDs, especially in autism spectrum disorder, Fragile-X syndrome, Down syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The large group of consortium faculty working in this field investigates the causes, mechanisms and consequences of NDDs from molecules and cells to whole brain function, across a wide range of species. There are 55 faculty members from 16 departments and 10 centers that work in this area. Research on this topic is anchored by the world-renowned UC Davis MIND Institute and the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine (IPRM) at Shriners Hospital, with major support from the MIND Institute Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), the Autism Center of Excellence and the Autism Research T32 Training Program.
Faculty studying NDDs, including ASDs
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Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D. Language development, assessment and intervention in neurodevelopmental disabilities R. Scott Akins, D.O. Autism Spectrum Disorders, intellectual disability and Trisomy 21 David G. Amaral, Ph.D. Systems neuroscience and studies of Autism Spectrum Disorder Bradley Ander, Ph.D., M.B.A. RNA and blood transcriptomes of stroke, brain injury and neurodisorders and effects of DNA variation Kathleen Angkustsiri, M.D., M.A.S. Pediatric child development and behavior Paul Ashwood, Ph.D. Neuroimmune effects on mental health Karen L. Bales, Ph.D. Behavioral neuroscience of social bonds Melissa D. Bauman, Ph.D. Behavioral neuroscience, prenatal risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders Robert F. Berman, Ph.D. Neurodevelopmental disorders; TBI; neurotoxicology Sanchita Bhatnagar, Ph.D. Childhood neurodevelopmental disorders; translational epigenetics Jacqueline Crawley, Ph.D. Behavioral neuroscience and neurodevelopmental disorders Robert Cudmore, Ph.D. Effects of experience, disease and aging on the structure and function of the brain Wenbin Deng, Ph.D. Molecular mechanisms of neuronal and glial cell death, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine Megan Dennis, Ph.D. Human genetics and genomics; Zebrafish to test human neural genes Kyle Fink, Ph.D. Therapeutic development for genetically-linked neurological disorders Diasynou Fioravante, Ph.D. Neural circuits for prediction, learning and memory Simona Ghetti, Ph.D. Development of memory and metamemory Cecilia Giulivi, M.S., Ph.D. Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurological disorders Randi Hagerman, M.D. Pediatric child development and behavior Paul J.Hagerman, M.D., Ph.D. Molecular underpinnings of the fragile X family of disorders Tim Hanks, Ph.D. Neural mechanisms of decision making and related disorders of brain function Robin L. Hansen M.D. Pediatric child development and behavior Danielle Harvey, Ph.D. Statistical analysis of complex correlated data; neuroimaging; longitudinal studies Johannes Hell, Ph.D. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurotransmission at synapses in the brain Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D. Environmental—Toxic chemicals, climate change, health disparities and neurodevelopment David Hessl, Ph.D. Child clinical psychology; neuropsychology Li-En Jao, Ph.D. The roles of centrosomes and cilia in development and disease Christina Kim, Ph.D. Molecular and optical technologies to study the neural circuits regulating motivation Janine LaSalle, Ph.D. Epigenetics in human autism-spectrum disorders Pamela J. Lein, Ph.D. Impacts of environmental stressors on the developing and aging brain Verónica Martínez Cerdeño, Ph.D. Anatomy and pathology of autism and related conditions A. Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D. Synapse formation and plasticity; neuroimmune contributions to development and disease Peter Mundy, Ph.D. Education and development of children with Autism Karl D. Murray, Ph.D. Brain development Stephen C. Noctor, Ph.D. Development of cortical structures in the central nervous system Alex Nord, Ph.D. Genomics in the brain development, function, and disorders Christine Wu Nordahl, Ph.D. Neuroimaging to study brain development in autism across the life span. Sally Ozonoff, Ph.D. Early detection of ASD, screening, infant/toddler diagnosis Gerald Quon, Ph.D. Computational approaches to identifying the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of genetic variants associated with psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders Sally J. Rogers, Ph.D. Neurodevelopmental disorders; Autism Rebecca J. Schmidt, Ph.D. Autism, molecular epidemiology, neurodevelopmental disorders, prenatal/preconception genetics, epigenetics Cynthia M. Schumann, Ph.D. Cellular and molecular developmental trajectory of brain regions related to anxiety and autism Julie Schweitzer, Ph.D. Attention and impulsivity in children and adults in typical development and in ADHD David J. Segal, Ph.D. Genome and epigenomic editing for the study and treatment of neurologic disorders Jill L. Silverman, Ph.D. Curative, precision strategies for single gene caused neurodevelopmental disorders, intellectual disabilities and pediatric epilepsies Tony Simon, Ph.D. Attention, and spatial and temporal processing in development and neurodevelopmental disorders Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D., M.B.A. Cognitive neuroscience and autism specturm disorders Aubyn C. Stahmer, Ph.D. Autism Assessment, Psychosocial Intervention Boryana Stamova, M.S., M.S., Ph.D. Transcriptomic architecture in disease to find clinically relevant biomarkers for precision medicine Ameer Taha, Ph.D. Role of lipids and lipid-like environmental toxins in brain disorders Flora Tassone, Ph.D. Transcriptional and translational regulation of fragile X (FMR1) gene Judith Anne Van de Water, Ph.D. Neuroimmunology, clinical immunology and immunopathology, gestational immune environment Konstantinos Zarbalis, Ph.D. Migration, differentiation, and connectivity of cortical neurons. Chengji Zhou, Ph.D. Morphogenetic signaling in neural development and regeneration Karen Zito, Ph.D. Molecular and cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in learning and disease