Contact
The core ICR staff consists of the following people:
Dr. Alice Kuo is the Principal Investigator of the AIR-P and at UCLA. Her research interests include access to and delivery of developmental services, cognitive and language development in young minority children, and services for children and adults with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. In addition to her research, she has been involved in educational programs at several levels, from undergraduate students to post-graduate fellows. From 2014 to 2018, Dr. Kuo was the Director of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)-funded Health Care Transitions Research Network (HCT-RN) for Autism. In 2016, she became the Director of the University of California Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (UC-LEND) program, and in 2020, she became the Director of the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). Her clinical practice consists of primary care for patients of all ages with neurodevelopmental conditions. Dr. Kuo received a BA in Biology from Harvard University, her MD from UCLA, her PhD in Educational Psychology with a focus on Early Childhood and Special Education from the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA, and her MBA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Massachusetts Isenberg School of Management.
Dr. Martinez-Agosto has been a faculty member at UCLA since 2005. He is a Steering Committee Member of the California Center for Rare Diseases, a Principal Investigator in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network Site at UCLA, a site PI for the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, and Co-Director of the Care and Research in Neurogenetics (CARING) Program. Dr Martinez-Agosto also participates in Pediatric Genetics efforts within the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health system, which provides genetic services to underserved medical populations. These genetics services and interventions aim to achieve early diagnosis and multi-disciplinary care that meets the individualized needs of underserved individuals with rare neurodevelopmental disorders and autism. His participation in multi-institutional collaborative studies at both national and international levels has led to many publications describing novel genetic disorders, their associated physical manifestations, and the impact of genetic testing interventions on care of individuals with neurogenetic disorders.
Dr. Rosenau is a developmental psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at UCLA. She is also the Training Director for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (UC-LEND) training program and the Assistant Clinical Director of the UC-LEND Clinic. Her work focuses on cognitive behavioral therapy for gender diverse neurodivergent adults and increasing access to knowledgeable providers. Dr. Rosenau is collaborating with an interdisciplinary team to improve primary care for autistic individuals and is actively working to improve disability curriculum in medical schools.
Jeff received his Bachelor’s of Arts in Cognitive Science and Music from the University of California, Berkeley. There, he worked with Dr. Mahesh Srinivasan and Dr. Ariel Starr in the Language and Cognitive Development Lab on a study related to child acquisition of a linguistic tool called polysemy. As a double major in Music and Cognitive Science, Jeff developed an interest in the benefits that the arts can have on individuals. This interest carries over to his work in the neurology node of AIR-P, where he works with Dr. Rujuta Wilson on a dance intervention study investigating the positive impact dance can have a on children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental conditions. He also works with Dr. Julian Martinez in the genetics node and assists with the coordination of the Infrastructure for Collaborative Research (ICR).
Jeff graduated from University of Oregon (UO) in 2013 with a major in Biology and a minor in Philosophy. After working as a researcher at Cedars Sinai, he continued his education at Auburn University (AU) through studying parasite-induced stress responses in Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellis columbianus). He plans to defend his PhD in Fall 2022*. Jeff's familiarity with curating and managing large datasets brings a research-focused perspective to the AIR-P team.