I am trained as a psychologist and my research expertise is in pediatric neuropsychology. My training was in outpatient units conducting behavioral, emotional, and learning evaluations of children with various medical conditions. I have worked 100% in research for the past 8 years; managing the administration and conduct of several large grants for Dr. Peg Nopoulos (Psychiatry).
My work with Dr. Nopoulos led me to conducting my own research on the neuropsychological development of children with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate. I use a combination of academic achievement and cognitive assessment tools and neuroimaging to evaluate learning disabilities (specifically language and reading) and their correlation to measures of brain function and structure. From shared and independent work, I have published several first-author manuscripts evaluating neuropsychological correlates in children with various developmental/congenital diagnoses. I have presented this data at national and international conferences. In 2012 I was awarded an internal grant (Biological Sciences Funding Program, $25K) to conduct a pilot study on neurocircuitry involved in reading among boys with non-syndromic cleft palate.
In 2013 I was promoted to Associate within the Department of Pediatrics at The University of Iowa Children's Hospital. I run the Pediatric Neuropsychology Clinic 1 day a week where we conduct assessments on children with various learning and attention concerns. I continue to work 75% time with Dr. Nopoulos on her research grants as well as my own independent work. My key research projects include: 1) Neurocircuitry of reading achievement in children with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate; 2) Development and Implementation of the AmeriCleft Psychosocial protocol through ACPA; and 3) Brain imaging and pre-speech quality in infants with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate, prior to treatment. I am also in my second year as co-chair for the Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP) Craniofacial Special Interest Group.