Upcoming Webinar

Topics will include: 

• An overview of the intersection between two initiatives funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) and The Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) Program. 
• Challenges with collaborative research and training projects as well as opportunities to engage with the AIR-P and LEND.

Emily Hotez, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and developmental psychology researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. She currently supports two HRSA autism research networks: The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) and The Autism Transitions Research Project (ATRP). In these roles, she prioritizes research that promotes the health, well-being, and thriving of autistic individuals across the life course. Dr. Hotez also directs several research, quality improvement, and medical education initiatives focusing on the role of social determinants of health for this population. In this work, she prioritizes a life course approach and is currently a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) life course intervention working group. Across all of Dr. Hotez’s research, she relies on methodologies that are driven by the individuals, communities, and populations that the research seeks to serve. Currently, she has privilege of co-directing the AIR-P Autistic and Neurodivergent Scholars Working for Equity in Research (ANSWER) committee. As a sister of an autistic adult, she is both professionally and personally committed to the success of this effort. Dr. Hotez received her B.A. in psychology from George Washington University and her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Jessica Simacek, PhD, is the Research Director of the University of Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (MNLEND), where she also serves as a Telehealth Faculty Mentor. Dr. Simacek is the Director of the TeleOutreach Center in the Institute on Community Integration and the TeleOutreach Service Hub at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain at the University of Minnesota. She serves as the Principal Investigator on research projects related to the use of innovative distance-learning technologies to improve access to interventions and supports for children with developmental disabilities or complex communication needs and for their families. Her work has appeared widely in peer-reviewed journals. She has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Special Education, from the University of Minnesota, and is a former MNLEND Pre- and Post-Doctoral Fellow. Simacek is the parent of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Sandra Friedman, MD, MPH, is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, within  the Department of Pediatrics and Section of Developmental Pediatrics. She is board certified in Pediatrics,  Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, and Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics. She is Director of JFK Partners and  Colorado LEND and UCEDD programs. She is site PI for the Developmental Behavioral Pediatric Research  Network (DBP-Net) and leads to Colorado CRE for AIR-P.  She is a member of the AIR-P LEND Collaborative Work  Group, as well of the PacWest regional LEND Regional Consortium. Since 2018, she has been PI for Access to  Care for Communities through Education, Service, and Supports (Project ACCESS) to improve access to   identification and management of children with autism in underserved urban, rural, and frontier regions of  Colorado, funded by Medical Supplemental Funds.

Toni Whitaker, MD, is a Professor and Division Chief in Developmental Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) and at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. She is the Director of the UTHSC Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program and has been a member of the AIR-P and LEND Collaboration work group. She serves as a Consultant to the CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. program and Medical Director of a statewide program of the TN Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to promote developmental monitoring and screening.