Tag Archives: uscdevlab

Trauma blocks

NIH Grant Extension funds further research into trauma and adjustment!

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Dr. Jane Roberts has the privilege of working with Dr. Yolanda Jackson from the University of Kansas Center for Research on a grant project entitled: Trauma Exposure, emotion regulation and cognitive skills in early childhood: Prospective and longitudinal examination of the mechanisms of adjustment.  NIH just approved a renewal of this grant which successfully tested and modeled the relation between potential protective factors and mental health outcomes for a sample of 302 youth in foster care over three time points.  In the proposed project, we will prospectively and longitudinally assess how dimensional components of trauma exposure (i.e., frequency, chronicity, and severity) influence threats and working memory to predict adjustment for early childhood-aged youth.


Chromosome X illustration

Infant Grant from NIH approved for Extension!

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In 2011, Dr. Roberts was the recipient of a five year NIH R01 grant entitled “Emergence and Stability of Autism in Fragile X Syndrome.”  In this study, Dr. Roberts and her team analyzed the behavior of infants who were at high risk for developing autism. She has now been awarded 3.1 million dollars from NIH to follow-up of these infants and track their development into their preschool years!  With this new award, the team at the Neurodevelopmental Lab will be able to follow the development of the infants from 9 months-of-age to 5 years-of-age and identify which features during infancy were predictive of  developmental delays in the infants at high risk for developmental impairments.  This information will then be translated to efforts targeting early identification and treatment.


Carly Moser

Carly Moser awarded Magellan Grant

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Carly Moser was named a Magellan Scholar in May 2016 and awarded a grant to fund research on the relationship between autonomic function and psychosocial outcomes in mothers with the FMR1 premutation.  Congratulations Carly!


Publications and Presentations Updated

Publications and Presentations Updated

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Our list of publications and presentations for 2015 has been updated based on our activities over the past year. Check out any of the links to see what we’ve been researching!


Anna Porter Wins At Discovery Day

Anna Porter wins at Discovery Day

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Undergraduate student Anna Porter presented her poster titled ​The Relation Between Anxiety and Heart  Rate in Women with the FMR1 Premutation During Direct and Averted Gaze at the 2015 University of South Carolina ​Discovery Day. The poster received the first place award in the Psychology and Neurosciences B section. Congratulations, Anna!


Geoff Marston Receives Award

Geoff Marston Receives Award

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Congratulations to Geoff Marston, an undergraduate research assistant with the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Research Lab, for receiving the Capstone Scholars’ Magellan Apprentice award! This award allows promising students to engage in mentored research. Geoff’s project will focus on the relationship between autonomic functioning and cognitive styles in women with the FMR1 premutation.


Infants with down syndrome

Infants with Down syndrome

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Do you have an infant with Down syndrome? We are currently recruiting infants with Down syndrome 13 months and younger in Columbia, SC and it’s surrounding areas to participant in our research study!

The goal of this study is to learn more about early development in Down syndrome:

  • Participant takes about 2 hours.
  • Participation involves an assessment of the infant’s developmental skills using play-based assessments, and an interview with parents regarding their child’s development and physiology.
  • Participants are compensated for their time.

Want to learn more? Contact Jessica Scherr at [email protected] or Laura Hahn at [email protected]. We can also be reached by phone at (803) 777-5676.


Bridgette Tonnsen Receives Travel Award

Bridgette Tonnsen Receives Travel Award

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Doctoral candidate Bridgette Tonnsen received the APA Division 33 Graduate Student Travel Award for the 48th Annual Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Congratulations, Bridgette!


recruiting mothers in sc

Recruiting Mothers in SC

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We’re Recruiting Mothers in SC! We are currently recruiting mothers of typically developing children for  our mother study.

Participants are compensated for their time. Participation in the mother study takes about 3 hours. It involves completing some interviews and questionnaires about family experiences.

Please contact Dr. Jessica Klusek by email or by phone at (803) 777-5676 if you have any questions or are interested in participating in this mother study.

This mother study focuses on understanding the range of experiences, thoughts and preferences, and communication styles that families with and without children with disabilities experience. We hope our results will help us learn the best ways to support families who have children affected by developmental disorders such as autism and fragile X syndrome. By recruiting mothers in SC, we hope to hear the wonderful stories from the moms in our community.


Doctoral Students Receive Provost Thesis Award

Doctoral Students Receive Provost Thesis Award

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In May 2014, doctoral students Marjorie Grefer and Jessi Scherr received the Provost Thesis Award. Congratulations!


Learn how you can take part in our research