Additional Titles & Roles
- Professor of Radiology
Education & Training
- Fellowship: Washington University, St. Louis, MO at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, 1993
- Residency: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 1991
- M.D.: University of Kansas Medical Center, 1988
- B.A.: University of Kansas, 1984
Major Awards
- Peer selected for inclusion in St. Louis’s Best Doctors, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers; Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2001
- Selected by NIH program staff to speak at the annual K Awardee meeting as a mentor, 2001
- Betty Wahlstedt Memorial Scholarship – for outstanding achievement and academic promise in Anthropology, Psychology or Sociology, 1984
- Kansas State University Dean’s Scholar Scholarship, 1980
Areas of Clinical Interest
Child and adolescent psychiatry, early onset depression, autism, pervasive developmental disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette’s disorder, bipolar affective disorder, schizophrenia, neuropsychiatry
Research Interests
My research investigates structural brain differences in children and adolescents with affective disorders, attention deficit disorder and autism. Including examination of structural MRI differences in discordant twin populations. We are involved in a longitudinal study to characterize very early brain development with MRI in infants at risk for developing autism and infants with Fragile X and Down Syndrome. In addition, in order to better understand structural abnormalities which we and others are demonstrating in children with psychiatric disorders, we are seeking to better characterize the progress of normal structural development and associated cognitive & behavioral development, by MRI, in healthy control populations. This research is done in collaboration with Robert McKinstry, M.D., Ph.D (Radiology), John R. Pruett, M.D., Ph.D. (Psychiatry), Natasha Marrus M.D., Ph.D. (Psychiatry), Josh Simony M.D. (Radiology) John N. Constantino, MD (Psychiatry, Pediatrics), Steve Petersen PhD (Neurology, Radiology) Alex Todorov, Ph.D. (Psychiatry), Deanna Barch, Ph.D. (Psychology); and David Van Essen, Ph.D. (Anatomy).
Secondary to ongoing neurodevelopmental changes, image analysis methodologies need specific validation and potential modifications for use in child populations. We are involved with Dr. Alan Evans (Montreal Neurological Institute) and Dr. Michael Miller and Dr. Tilak Ratnanather’s lab (Johns Hopkins University) on the application of newer image analysis techniques, including automated 3-D, high resolution, warping atlases for child and adolescent populations.
Recent Publications
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Brain functional connectivity correlates of autism diagnosis and familial liability in 24-month-olds
for the IBIS Network, Dec 2025, In: Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders. 17, 1, 40.
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Functional connectivity between the visual and salience networks and autistic social features at school-age
for the IBIS Network, Dec 2025, In: Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders. 17, 1, 23.
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Gestational vitamin D concentration and child cognitive development: a longitudinal cohort study in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program
for the ECHO Cohort Consortium, Aug 2025, In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 122, 2, p. 571-581 11 p.
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Disparities in the association of ambient air pollution with childhood asthma incidence in the ECHO consortium: A US-wide multi-cohort study
the ECHO Cohort Consortium, Jun 11 2025, In: Environmental Epidemiology. 9, 4, p. e398
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Socio-ecological domains and adolescent mental health: An application of the dual-factor model
ECHO Cohort Consortium, Jun 2025, In: Journal of Research on Adolescence. 35, 2, e70029.