Lindsay Shea is the Leader of the Life Course Outcomes Research Program which delivers information that empowers families, communities and organizations to create a world where people on the autism spectrum are valued and supported as contributing members of the community.
John D. Wiley Seminar Series
Seminar – Richard Finnell, PhD – “Embryonic Consequences of Abnormal Folate Transport”
Dr. Richard H. Finnell has been involved in investigating genetic susceptibility to environmentally induced birth defects, applying multi-omic approaches to the detection of potential teratogenic compounds in efforts to prevent these birth defects, developing mouse models to understand the pathogenesis of complex structural malformations, and using highly innovative stem cell therapies to treating these disabilities.
Seminar – Moriah Thomason, PhD – “The Impact of Stress and Environmental Exposure on Neurodevelopment and Developmental Disorders”
Moriah Thomason’s research addresses principals of neural development beginning in utero. Her current NIH grants examine environmental factors with potential to influence functional neurocircuitry of the developing brain.
Dolan Lecture – Hongkui Zeng, PhD – “Understanding Brain Cell Type Diversity”
Hongkui Zeng’s current research interests are in understanding neuronal diversity and connectivity in the mouse visual cortical circuit and how different neuronal types work together to process and transform visual information.
Seminar – Ann Kaiser, PhD – “Caregiver Implemented Naturalistic Language Interventions: Dosage, Generalization and Child Effects”
Dr. Kaiser has published more than 160 articles and chapters on early language interventions for children with language delays and developmental disabilities, and for children at risk due to poverty.
Seminar – Brenna Maddox, PhD – “Working Together to Improve Suicide Prevention Practices for People on the Autism Spectrum”
Dr. Maddox is an assistant Professor in the department of psychiatry. As the implementation scientist at TEACCH, her work focuses on improving community services for people on the autism spectrum across the lifespan.
Seminar – Junmin Peng, PhD – “High-Throughput Proteomics of Human Diseases”
Dr. Peng is a member of both the Structural Biology and Developmental Neurobiology departments at St. Jude and serves as the director of the Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics. His research involves using mass spectrometry-based proteomics, metabolomics and systems biology to understand mechanisms of human disease.
Harry A. Waisman Memorial Lecture – Stephen Scherer, PhD, DSc FRSC – Understanding the Composition of the Human Genome for Studies of Genetic Disease
Dr. Stephen Scherer’s research includes understanding the composition of the human genome for studies of genetic disease built around three themes: 1) gene copy number and structural variation in the human genome, 2) determining the genetic architecture in autism spectrum and related- disorders and using this information to help families, and 3) developing infrastructure and capacity in Canada for translational genomics research.
Seminar – Jonathan Santoro, MD – “Down Syndrome Regression Disorder: Neuroinflammation and Response to Immunotherapeutics”
Dr. Santoro serves as the Director of Neuroimmunology and Demyelinating Disorders Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He is also an assistant professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Santoro has been instrumental in identifying systemic vascular abnormalities in persons with Down syndrome and moyamoya disease, a rare stroke disorder which affects persons with Down syndrome 26 times more frequently than the general population. Santoro also has clinical research expertise in inflammation as it related to cerebrovascular disease and neurocognitive disorders such as Down syndrome regression syndrome, of which he spoken on internationally.
Seminar – Carlos Portera-Cailliau, MD, PhD – “Cortical Circuits in Neurodevelopmental Disorders”
Dr. Carlos Portera-Cailliau investigates synaptic and circuit changes in the mouse model of Fragile X syndrome in his lab at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, where he is on faculty. He has received grants from the NIH, the Dana Foundation, the March of Dimes Foundation, the Simons Foundation, and the John Merck Fund. From 2013 to 2021 he was the co-director of the UCLA-Caltech medical Scientist Training Program. He still sees patients in the movement disorders clinic.