Postdoctoral Training

Training Program Faculty

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Core Faculty

Eva Anton, Ph.D.

Donald Bailey, Ph.D.
Dr. Bailey's research focuses on fragile X syndrome; where he has been conducting a longitudinal investigation of the early cognitive/behavioral development of a very large sample of boys with fragile X syndrome.

Grace Baranek, Ph.D.
Dr. Baranek's research focuses on the early predictors and sensory processing functions in autism, including the relationship of patterns of sensory reactivity to adaptive behaviors and maladaptive behaviors.

Aysenil Belger, Ph.D.
Dr. Belger's research examines the neural correlates of cognitive function using in vivo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potential (ERP) recordings.

Manzoor Bhat, Ph.D.

James Bodfish, Ph.D.

Jay Brenman, Ph.D.

Margaret Burchinal, Ph.D.
Dr. Burchinal has focused her work on using growth curve statistical methods to describe individual patterns of development.

Frances Campbell, Ph.D.

Martha Cox, Ph.D.

Stephen Crews, Ph.D.

Julie Daniels, Ph.D.

Marsha Davenport, M.D.
Dr. Davenport is a pediatric endocrinologist and Director of the Turner Syndrome (TS) Clinic at UNC. She has a research interest in early diagnosis and intervention in TS.

Joseph D'Ercole, M.D.
Dr. D'Ercole's research explores the role of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) in CNS growth and development using a variety of transgenic and gene knockout models.

Mohanish Deshmukh,Ph.D.

Gabriel Dichter, Ph.D.
Dr. Dichter’s research focuses on assessing core symptoms and treatment response in autism using brain imaging and psychophysiology.

Gary Duncan, Ph.D.

Maria Escolar, M.D.

Greg Essick, Ph.D.

John Gilmore, M.D.
Dr. Gilmore's major research interest is the effect of prenatal infection on neurodevelopment.

Karen Grewen, Ph.D.

Heather Cody Hazlett, Ph.D.

Joseph Hopfinger, Ph.D.

Xuemei Huang, M.D., Ph.D.

Josephine Johns, Ph.D.
Dr. Johns' laboratory studies the development and behavior of offspring following prenatal cocaine exposure throughout pregnancy, the effects of cocaine on maternal behavior and aggression in a rodent model, and, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these behavioral abnormalities.

Joe Kornegay, Ph.D.

Anthony LaMantia, Ph.D.
Dr. LaMantia's laboratory is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of early development of the forebrain. Currently they are examining candidate target genes for these early signals, and the role of such genes in subsequent forebrain differentiation, including mouse homologues of genes in a human chromosomal region that is deleted in DiGeorge Syndrome or Velocardiofacial syndrome.

Lori Leibold, Ph.D.

Weili Lin, Ph.D.

Molly Losh, Ph.D.

Terry Magnuson, Ph.D.
Dr. Magnuson's lab is participating in large-scale mutagenesis programs to identify genes controlling cellular and developmental pathways in mice and creating a comprehensive collection of variant alleles for genes of interest.

C.J. Malanga, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Malanga’s research focuses on physiology and pharmacology of the basal ganglia; neurobiology of motivation and reward; substance abuse neurobiology; and neurobehavioral teratology. Our laboratory studies the development and function of neural circuitry involved in the perception of reward and the reinforcement of motivated behavior. We investigate these phenomena in several mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders, including prenatal and adolescent exposure to drugs of abuse, such as alcohol or cocaine; and genetic models relevant to the study of autism, such as inactivation of the Fmr1 (Fragile-X Mental Retardation Protein, FMRP) or MeCP2 (Methyl-CpG Binding Protein) genes. Our laboratory employs techniques in behavioral pharmacology, including intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS); in vitro patch-clamp electrophysiology; and immunohistochemistry with design-based stereology.

Patricia Maness, Ph.D.
Dr. Maness' research focuses on basic molecular mechanisms of neuronal development with an emphasis on axonal and dendritic differentration, and the role of neural cell adhesion molecules and their processes. The neural cell adhesion molecules NCAM and L1 are implicated in schizophrenia and X-linked mental retardation (CRASH Syndrome), respectively.

Glenn Matsushima, Ph.D.

Ken McCarthy, Ph.D.

Gary Mesibov, Ph.D.

Sheryl Moy, Ph.D.

Joseph Muenzer, M.D., Ph.D.

Sam Odom, Ph.D.

Steven Offenbacher, DDS, Ph.D.

Peter Ornstein, Ph.D.

Cort Pedersen, M.D.
Dr. Pedersen's lab studies the neural mechanisms activating maternal attachment to offspring and social attachments in general, focusing primarily on the role of the neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin. This research is a model for understanding the pathophysiology of social deficits that are a prominent feature of autism.

David Penn, Ph.D.

Larysa Pevny, Ph.D.

Joseph Piven, M.D.
Dr. Piven's research studies the pathogenesis of autism , specifically molecular genetic linkage studies searching for genes; and, structural and functional imaging of autistic individuals to examine trajectories of brain development (in a longitudinal study of autistic infants) and the neural circuits underlying abnormal brain function in autism.

Ben Philpot, Ph.D.
Dr. Philpot is known for his work examining the mechanisms by which experience regulates synaptic plasticity in the neocortex.  His work demonstrates that experience-dependent changes in the composition of the NMDA-type glutamate receptor can regulate the ability to strengthen and weaken synapses.  He has recently started a line of research, using mouse models, to elucidate the synaptic basis for autism and autism spectrum disorders.

Franck Polleux, Ph.D.

William Reed, Ph.D.

Steven Reznick, Ph.D.
Dr. Reznick is primarily interested in the cognitive development of normal and developmentally disabled human infants by specifically examining development of memory, goal-orientation, categorization, and language using behavioral observation and eye movement analysis.

Bryan Roth, M.D., Ph.D.

Linmarie Sikich, M.D.
Dr. Sikich's research focuses on pharmacologic treatment interventions in neurodevelopmental disorders (autism, schizophrenia and velocardiofacial syndrome) with an emphasis on potential biological markers as modifying variables (such as variations in brain structure and function).

William Snider, M.D.

Jair Soares, M.D.

Martin Styner, Ph.D.

Kathleen Sulik, Ph.D.
Work in Dr. Sulik's laboratory over the past 20 years has focused on understanding the genesis of birth defects (in particular, craniofacial and brain abnormalities) in mouse models of both environmentally induced and genetically caused malformations.

Patrick Sullivan, M.D.

Deborah Thorpe, Ph.D.

Mark Tommerdahl, Ph.D.

Young Truong, Ph.D.

Linda Watson, Ed.D.
Dr. Watson is a Speech Language Pathologist with specific expertise children with autism. Dr. Watson's clinical and research interests have focused on the interaction of parents with young children with autism and their emergent language development.

Steven Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D.
The major theme of Dr. Zeisel's Program Project is that the development of brain during critical periods in embryogenesis is vulnerable to changes in maternal diet, specifically changes in choline or folate intake.

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Associate Faculty

Art Aylsworth, M.D.
Dr. Aylsworth is a pediatric geneticist with a major clinical and research interest in MRDD genetic syndromes.

Maria Boccia, Ph.D.
Dr. Boccia's research utilizes primate models to study the role of central oxytocin systems in the development of social behavior, a potential model for the social deficits in autism.

Susan Brunssen, Ph.D.

Jacqueline Crawley, Ph.D.

Robert Greenwood, M.D.
Dr. Greenwood is active in research studying the impact of seizures on the developing nervous system, as well as an MRI study of brain-behavior relationships in neurofibromatosis 1.

Chistina Grobin, Ph.D.

Deborah Hatton, Ph.D.

Steve Hooper, Ph.D.
Dr. Hooper is Head of Psychology and Director of Child Neuropsychology at The Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning. His research has examined neurocognitive functioning in autism, fragile x syndrome, and other types of neurogenetic and acquired developmental disorders.

Jean Lauder, Ph.D.
Dr. Lauder's work addresses the importance of serotonin (5-HT) as a developmental signal in brain and craniofacial development. The serotonergic system and its dysregulation by genetic and epigenetic influences is thought to play roles in such developmental disabilities as autism, Down syndrome, learning, mood and anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.

Pauline Kay Lund, Ph.D.

Joseph Morrissey, Ph.D.

Kathleen Rao, Ph.D.

Marcia Van Riper, Ph.D.

Fred Wright, Ph.D.