Congratulations to Our Newest Ph.D. Grad, Diondra Straiton!

Diondra’s research area is in Clinical Science and her dissertation examined the active ingredients of group consultation to improve the implementation of a parent coaching intervention for Medicaid-enrolled autistic children.

Diondra is currently completing her predoctoral internship at the University of Pennsylvania on the Child/Development Disabilities track. She is working with the Penn Medicine Autism Clinic, in the PATCH Anxiety Clinic, and has two rotations in the Philadelphia public school district. Once she completes her internship, Diondra will be heading to the University of Pennsylvania to be a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow where she will be working on research projects about methods to improve training for clinicians in Philadelphia’s early intervention system.

Congratulations Diondra, the MSU Autism Lab is so proud of you!!

MSU Autism Lab Info Session

The Department of Psychology at Michigan State University will be hosting a virtual webinar for students interested in applying to the Clinical Science Ph.D. program on September 18 from 6 pm-7 pm Eastern Time. To register for the Clinical Science Program webinar, go to https://msu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_elZT1jSPvIym6Nw and provide your name and email. A Zoom link for the session will be provided.

Immediately following, the MSU Autism Lab will host a virtual open house to provide an opportunity for prospective students to meet the members of the lab and hear about our current and upcoming research projects. This info session will last from 7 pm-8 pm. To register for the MSU Autism Lab Info Session, click on this link: https://msu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcrcuyoqz0pGtCXrV8VTUZ0hS0AIEvhbjE6

The MSU Autism lab is hiring full-time research assistant

The MSU Autism Lab in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University is seeking a full‐time, research assistant to begin around June 2023. The research assistant will join a multi‐site NIMH Collaborative R01 study, under the direction of Dr. Brooke Ingersoll (Michigan State University), Dr. Alice Carter (University of Massachusetts Boston), Dr. Wendy Stone (University of Washington), Dr. Allie Wainer (Rush University Medical Center), and Dr. Sarabeth Broder‐Fingert (Boston University School of Medicine). This community‐based randomized controlled trial is examining the effectiveness of training EI providers to deliver Reciprocal Imitation Teaching (RIT) within the Part C Early Intervention (EI) system across four states (Massachusetts, Michigan, Washington and Illinois). The MSU Research Lab, directed by Dr. Brooke Ingersoll, is focused on the development, evaluation, and implementation of community‐viable interventions for children with ASD and their families. MSU Autism Lab is a supportive and collaborative environment. The research assistant will also benefit from broader training opportunities across sites. This position is ideal for a candidate looking to gain additional research experience in clinical psychology before applying to graduate school.

Congratulations to Jessie Greatorex and Teresa Girard who presented at the 2022 University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum (UURAF)!

Congratulations to our lab’s undergraduate students Jessie Greatorex and Teresa Girard for their presentations at UURAF!

Jessie Greatorex’s poster was entitled “Examining the Social-Communication Outcomes for Medicaid Enrolled Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder partaking in a Parent-Mediated Intervention”. She worked with graduate student, Diondra Straiton and PI Dr. Brooke Ingersoll.
Teresa Girard’s poster examined administrative and logistical barriers in the implementation of telehealth ABA therapy. She worked with graduate student Anamiguel Pomales-Ramos and PI Dr. Brooke Ingersoll.

Julia Nauman Wins Multiple Awards from the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)!

Congratulations to Julia Nauman, the MSU Autism Lab’s Lab Manager, for receiving an Autistic Researcher Award from INSAR. Last year Julia won the Student and Trainee Award from INSAR and presented at INSAR’s 2021 virtual research conference.

You can view and download Julia’s 2022 Research Poster and Abstract entitled “Examining the Role of Attention Problems in Motor Stereotypy in Children with ASD” here.

During INSAR’s May 2021 virtual conference, Julia gave a presentation entitled “Examining the Relationship between Stereotypy and Attentional Problems and Diagnoses in Individuals with ASD”.

If you are an INSAR member, you can check out Julia’s abstract, as well as the other abstracts from the INSAR 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting here: https://www.autism-insar.org/general/custom.asp?page=2021AnnMtg