AIR-P Presents: Leveraging the AIR-P for Collaborative Research Through the LEND Program

Tuesday, July 16, 2024
4:00pm ET - 5:00pm ET
Location: Zoom

Webinar Description

This webinar will provide 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. Panelists will describe how they leverage the AIR-P to further the mission of the LEND program. They will discuss successful research projects their trainees have worked on that align with the goals of these programs. Panelists will also discuss challenges with instituting collaborative research and training projects and potential strategies for addressing these challenges. Finally, they will discuss ongoing work within the AIR-P LEND committee.

 

Presenters

Emily Hotez, Ph.D. 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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Please Note

  • CART captioning will be provided. For additional disability accommodations please email Elizabeth Schnieder at [email protected] two weeks prior to the event with name of event and accommodation preference in your response.
  • There is no cost for this webinar.
  • CEUs are not offered for this webinar.
  • This webinar will be held on the Zoom Platform. You can test your connection with Zoom before joining the meeting here.
  • This webinar will be archived available on the AUCD Webinar Library.
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