Dr. Sarah Schipul, a post-doctoral fellow at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, has been named a Meixner Postdoctoral Fellow in Translational Research by Autism Speaks.
Dr. Schipul, who is conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Grace Baranek, Department of Allied Health Sciences, and Dr. Aysenil Belger, Department of Psychiatry, will use EEG readings to compare the synchronization of brain activity in children with or without autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In particular, she will examine whether disruptions in brain activity affect behavior and whether such measures can be used to gauge the benefits of potential medicines and other interventions.
The Meixner Postdoctoral Fellowship program supports projects that bridge laboratory science and applications that directly involve individuals affected by ASD. Each fellow works under the guidance of mentors who rank among the field’s pioneers in basic and clinical research. The goal is to train a new generation of autism researchers while translating basic science into new and effective ways of diagnosing, treating and supporting individuals living with autism. The fellowship, which was announced in June, will span two years.