Monthly Archives: April 2019

2019 Gatlinburg Conference

The NDD Lab attended the 2019 Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in San Antonio, Texas. This year’s theme was “Translational Research on Down Syndrome.”

Dr. Jane Roberts is a member of the Executive Committee for the conference, which was established in the 1960s as an annual scientific meeting designed to advance translational biobehavioral research on intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Dr. Abigail Hogan and Dr. Elizabeth Will chaired symposia on “Neurophysiological Indicators of ASD-Related Behavioral Phenotypes” and “Mechanisms and Functional Consequences of Motor Impairments across Down Syndrome, Fragile X, Autism, and Single Gene Mutations”, respectively. Doctoral students Jordan Ezell, Shannon O’Connor, Carla Wall, and Conner Black presented research posters.

We were delighted to run into several former team members at the conference, including Kelly Caravella White, Carly Moser, Sara Matherly, and Debra Reisinger.

For more information about the Gatlinburg conference, go to their website.

Former NDD Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Receives Early Career Award

Dr. Jessica Klusek has received an Early Career R21 Award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Dr. Klusek spent three years in the NDD Lab for a postdoctoral fellowship before joining the USC Communication Sciences and Disorders department as an assistant professor in 2016. Her research focuses on communication disorders associated with autism and fragile X syndrome.

She will use the three-year, $440K grant to advance her research on the FMR1 premutation, aiming to delineate the full range of oral and written language features associated with the FMR1 premutation as well as their interface with cognitive-executive aspects of the phenotype and FMR1 gene dysfunction. This will be the first systematic investigation of language abilities in premutation carrier mothers—examining aspects of written and oral language that differ from non-carrier mothers and mothers who have children with autism spectrum disorder.

“This research will refine our understanding of the full range of language phenotypes linked with FMR1 gene dysfunction,” she says. “It will also inform the development of identification and treatment efforts targeted towards the specific needs of mothers who carry the FMR1 premutation and their families.”

If you’re interested in participating in Dr. Klusek’s study, you can learn more at http://www.scfamilystudy.com.

Calling for Applications: Postdoctoral Fellowship Position at the NDD Lab

Dr. Jane Roberts and the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Lab at the University of South Carolina are pleased to announce the availability of one full-time NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship position. The fellow will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of ongoing projects focused on early development in fragile X syndrome, autism, Down syndrome, and siblings of children with autism.

Specialized training in the following domains will be offered:

• Advanced physiological methods (e.g., heart activity, EEG/ERP, salivary cortisol)
• Autism diagnosis (e.g., ADOS-2 research reliability)
• Professional development (e.g., design of new studies, manuscript preparation, student mentorship, grant preparation, and the transition to independence)

The fellow will be encouraged to submit their own application for external funding to a major federal agency or private foundation. Dr. Roberts’ postdoctoral fellows have a history of external funding success, particularly with NIH F32 and Loan Repayment Program (LRP) applications.

Applicants with expertise in neurodevelopmental disorders will be considered. Our group is multi-disciplinary and includes faculty, staff, and students with training in Communication Sciences and Disorders as well as Clinical, School, and Developmental Psychology. While this fellowship has a primary focus on research, there will be many clinical training opportunities, and clinical supervision can be provided by our team’s licensed child psychologist.

The start date is Fall 2019, with some flexibility as needed. This is a two-year position, with possibility of extension.

Please e-mail a CV and statement of interest to:
Jane E. Roberts, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
Jane.Roberts@sc.edu