Lab Members

Ami Klin, Ph.D. is the Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Professor and Chief of the Division of Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Emory University School of Medicine, and Director of the Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of London, and completed clinical and research post-doctoral fellowships at the Yale Child Study Center. He directed the Autism Program at the Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine until 2010, where he was the Harris Professor of Child Psychology & Psychiatry. Dr. Klin’s primary research activities focus on the social mind and the social brain, and on aspects of autism from infancy through adulthood. These studies include novel techniques such as the eye-tracking laboratories co-directed with Warren Jones, which allow researchers to see the world through the eyes of individuals with autism. Dr. Klin is the author of over 180 publications in the field of autism and related conditions. He is also the co-editor of a textbook on Asperger Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders in Infants and Toddlers published by Guilford Press, the third edition of the Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders published by Wiley, and several special issues of professional journals focused on autism spectrum disorders.

Warren Jones, Ph.D. is the Director of Research at the Marcus Autism Center and is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Yale University. His research is focused on the use of eye-tracking technologies to characterize and quantify the social phenotype in autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and related conditions. The aim of Dr. Jones’s research is to better understand the perspectives and struggles of individuals with social disabilities, to quantify phenotypic variation in the manifestation of such disabilities, to improve efforts at early diagnosis, and to develop future strategies for intervention.

Gordon Ramsay, Ph.D. is the Director of the Spoken Communication Laboratory at the Marcus Autism Center and is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. Gordon graduated from Cambridge University in England with a B.A./M.A. in Electrical and Information Sciences and an M.Phil. in Computer Speech and Language Processing, and went on to complete a Ph.D. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Southampton. He has also studied and worked at the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications in Paris, France, the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, the Institut de la Communication Parlée in Grenoble, France, and the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium, and has ongoing collaborations with the Department of Linguistics at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia and MARCS Auditory Laboratories at the University of Western Sydney in Australia. Trained as a speech scientist and electronic engineer, his research has centered on understanding the biological foundations of spoken language by building computationally-explicit models of speech production and speech perception, and applying these to speech synthesis and recognition. In collaboration with Ami Klin, Warren Jones, and David Lin, he has recently begun developing new statistical tools and novel experimental paradigms for investigating the development of audiovisual perception in infants with autism. In his spare time, he is writing a prehistory of mechanical speaking machines.

Cheryl Klaiman, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and Director for the Assessment and Diagnosis Program at Marcus Autism Center, leading a team of 15 clinicians to conduct diagnostic evaluations for clinical and research patients. She is also clinical director of a multisite, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated clinical trial working to translate research endeavors at Marcus into a tool for diagnosing autism. Dr. Klaiman is also Assessment Core Director for the center’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center of Excellence grants. At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Klaiman investigates techniques to aid in the differential diagnosis of individuals with autism, such as eye-tracking, ERP and functional MRI, early diagnosis and treatment strategies, and genetic comorbidities, such as fragile X syndrome and Williams syndrome. She earned her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from McGill University in 2003 and then completed her pre- and post-doctoral internship at the Yale Child Study Center.

Sarah Shultz, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Emory University School of Medicine. She received her doctorate in Cognitive Psychology from Yale University, where she used both behavioral (eye-tracking) and neuroimaging methods and analysis techniques (fMRI, EEG, dynamic causal modeling) to investigate social cognition and perception gordon from infancy to adulthood in both typically-developing populations and populations with ASD. At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Shultz investigates the causes and biological mechanisms of ASD. Using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, she studies the interaction between developmental changes in the brain and the developmental unfolding of social behavior in infants with and without ASD. She also uses simultaneous eye-tracking and fMRI to study how the brain functions when children actively explore dynamic, naturalistic social scenes.

Lindee Morgan, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and co-directs the Education Sciences Research Core and the Preschool Program at the Marcus Autism Center. She received her doctorate at Florida State University where she also served as the director of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. Dr. Morgan is also a developer of the Autism Navigator, an invaluable web-based resource designed to bridge the gap between the science community and community practice. At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Morgan’s primary focus is on classroom-based intervention for children with ASD. Her research focuses on investigating treatments to improve classroom engagement and social communication outcomes for individuals with ASD. In addition to her roles at Marcus, Dr. Morgan serves as a cabinet member of Get Georgia Reading and on the executive board of the Atlanta Autism Consortium.

Michael Siller, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and co-directs the Education Sciences Research Core and the Preschool Program at the Marcus Autism Center. He received his doctorate in developmental psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles where he studied parent-child interaction, and longitudinally evaluated the development of spoken language in individuals with ASD from preschool to early adulthood. Prior to coming to Marcus, Dr. Siller held a position as Associate Professor of Psychology at Hunter College of The City University of New York, where he studied the social, emotional, and communicative development of individuals with ASD, and completed two clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of parent coaching interventions for young children with ASD. At the Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Siller works towards developing, evaluating, and implementing community-viable educational innovations for individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

Longchuan Li, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine and co-directs the Pediatric Neuroimaging Core at the Marcus Autism Center. He received his doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Upon receiving his degree, he completed his postdoctoral training at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology where he focused on the methods and applications of diffusion magnetic resonance imaging. At Marcus, Dr. Li is currently working on understanding spatio-temporal patterns of early brain development using MRI, network theory, and statistical modeling. He also collaborates with Emory National Primate Research Center on ongoing neuroimaging studies with infant rhesus macaques.

Laura A. Edwards, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the Marcus Autism Center. Her research aims to leverage social neuroscience methods and insights to improve the educational outcomes of children with autism and related communication disorders. Her current projects focus on identifying optimal timing and targets for early intervention, the development of community-viable biomarkers for predicting and monitoring risk of school difficulties, language/communication and literacy development, optimizing inclusive classrooms, and the role of arts education in social development. She received her doctorate in Human Development and Education from Harvard University.

Katherine Pickard, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Michigan State University and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at JFK Partners at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Her primary research interest is in the translation of evidence-based practices into community systems that are naturally positioned to serve children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental delays. This interest is rooted in a longstanding commitment to better understanding and addressing treatment disparities. Dr. Pickard’s research is grounded in community-engaged research models and guided by dissemination and implementation science. At Marcus Autism Center, Dr. Pickard leads and collaborates on research examining mechanisms that foster the adoption, implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices within a variety of community systems, including early intervention and public school systems. She is particularly interested in the role of families and community stakeholders in shaping interventions as they are implemented within the community, and in other factors that impact the reach and sustainability of translation efforts.

Jose Luis Paredes is an Applications Developer and Analyst. He received his Master in Computer Science specializing in Network Systems at the University of New Haven. He received a B.S. in Physics and a B.S. in Mathematics at the University of Houston. Jose works in the development of in-house software solutions including a video behavior coding application, an automated application for coding of regions of interest in videos and a visual stimuli presentation application incorporating an eye tracking data collection system. In addition he provides configuration, deployment and technical support of Mac OS X desktop and laptop computers and a Mac OS X server used at the Social Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Research Cores. He also provides training for lab users in computer programming fundamentals.

Brittney Sholar is a Senior Research Administrative Coordinator at Marcus Autism Center.  Brittney graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2013. Since joining the Marcus Autism Center Pediatric Neuroimaging Research Core in 2014, she has been instrumental in creating standard operating procedures for the collection and management of pediatric neuroimaging data. In addition, she is extensively trained in collecting MRI data from children with and without developmental disabilities. Brittney specializes in project management and is responsible for coordinating and scheduling MRI protocols as well as supervising the neuroimaging research assistants.

Harshini Murthy, originally from Bangalore, India, graduated from Emory University in 2021 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and a B.A. in Psychology. During her time at Emory, Harshini completed her honor’s thesis under the guidance of Dr. Aubrey Kelly and Dr. Michael Siller. Her thesis investigated the impact of COVID-19 and distance learning on pre-school children’s active engagement in classrooms. Harshini also was an undergraduate research assistant at Dr. Scott Lilienfeld’s lab, where she aided in researching intellectual humility and biases. She spent her free time at Emory travelling with her acapella group to competitions across the US, and performing on campus and at Atlanta events.

As a research assistant at Marcus, Harshini is part of the neuroimaging team and assists in eye-tracking data collection for infants at high and low risk for ASD. Currently, she helps in collecting control data to study differences between groups with and without 3q29 deletions and duplications. Harshini also serves as a research assistant for the ACE Educational Follow Up study, which follows students previously enrolled in the ACE studies and tracks their academic performance and development. In the future, Harshini hopes to pursue a graduate degree in Neuropsychology.

 
Brooke Demetri was an honors student at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she graduated summa cum laude in May 2021 with a B.S. in Neuroscience. During her time at Geneseo, Brooke worked with Dr. Jason Ozubko in collaboration with the University of Rochester to investigate the neuropsychological basis of spatial memory development over time in humans using functional MRI. Additionally, Brooke conducted her honors thesis with Dr. Varuni Jamburuthugoda, where she used various molecular and microbiology techniques to analyze the role of RNA binding in the integration mechanism of R2 retrotransposable elements to better understand disease-causing retrotransposition of similar elements present in humans. Along with her research experiences, Brooke was a volunteer EMT-B on the Geneseo First Response Team, a Supplemental Instructor for organic chemistry and general biology, as well as a Teaching Assistant for behavioral research methods and cognitive psychology.
 
As a research assistant at Marcus, Brooke is a member of the neuroimaging team and assists on eye-tracking and MRI studies involving infants who are at high and low risk for ASD. Currently, Brooke is working on a project investigating transitions in cortical and subcortical visual pathways in infants throughout their first six months of life. Brooke is also involved in collecting neuroimaging data on individuals with 3q29 microdeletion syndrome. After her time at Marcus, Brooke plans to apply to medical school and pursue a career as a physician specializing in Neonatology or Developmental and
Behavioral Pediatrics.
 

Malerie McDowell graduated from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN in 2017 with a B.S. in Neuroscience and a B.A. in Studio Art. In her primary undergraduate research, Malerie studied visual perception under Dr. Jason Haberman, and led two projects in aesthetic preferences toward motion and mirror reflection. After graduating, Malerie became a research analyst at Vanderbilt University under Dr. Frank Tong where she continued her studies in vision science using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods and led a project studying how radiologists search for abnormalities in x-rays. While at Vanderbilt, she pursued an interest in clinical psychology and later spent 10 months as a Registered Behavioral Technician at Dogwood Autism Services, where she scaffolded early communication and social skills with toddlers with ASD.

As a research assistant at Marcus, Malerie assists in eye-tracking and neuroimaging data collection for infants at high risk and low risk for ASD. Currently, she is investigating visual correlates of perceived salience as infants with and without ASD engage with their caregivers. Following her work at Marcus, Malerie plans to pursue a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology.