Stacey D. Elkhatib Smidt, M.D., was a physician and a T32 research trainee at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She completed her pediatrics and child neurology residency at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and her sleep medicine fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Given her background, Dr. Elkhatib Smidt is interested in sleep in autism spectrum disorder.

Brielle Gehringer was a Clinical Research Coordinator on the ASPE Study. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. While at Penn, Brielle worked as a Research Assistant at the Center for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she studied cognition, linguistics, and communication in children with ASD.

Rebecca Kalik was a lab technician in Mike Hart’s lab. She graduated from Emory University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Linguistics. During her time at Emory, Rebecca studied the neural basis of social behavior in gerbils. In the Hart Lab, Rebecca works with C. elegans to study the impact of autism linked mutations on stress, sleep, and neuronal plasticity.

Allison Langer was a Clinical Research Coordinator on the ASPE Study. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree in the Biological Basis of Behavior and Psychology. While at Penn, Allison worked as a Research Assistant at the Center for Autism Research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she studied motor coordination in adolescents with ASD. After graduating, Allison worked at the Negev Autism Center in Israel where she researched methods for quantifying social symptoms of autism using motion capture.

Kyra Levy, M.S., was a Neuroscience graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania working towards her Ph.D. in Tom Jongens’ lab. She previously received her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University, and her Master’s degree in Neuroscience at Drexel University where she studied the involvement of the orexin/hypocretin system in cocaine self-administration in rats. In the Jongens lab, Kyra will be studying how mutations in Neurexin may affect sensory responses, sleep and circadian rhythm, and social behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster.

Eric Rawot was a Clinical Research Coordinator on the ASPE Study. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in the Biological Basis of Behavior and Philosophy. While at Penn, Eric worked as a Research Assistant in the Boundaries of Anxiety and Depression Laboratory, where he studied the relationship between Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder.

Marjorie Risman, M.A., was a Senior Research Coordinator & Project Manager on the ASPE team at the University of Pennsylvania. Her responsibilities have included recruiting research study participants; creating, managing and querying study databases using a variety of software; and interacting with university regulatory offices. She previously served in similar capacities at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and at the University of Utah School of Medicine.

Samantha Steeman was a Clinical Research Coordinator on the ASPE Study. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2021 with a Bachelor’s degree in the Biological Basis of Behavior. While at Penn, she worked in the Brodkin Lab on the ASPE team, studying the heritability of autistic traits and ways to best describe the spectrum of social functioning. She also worked at CHOP Neonatology, where she studied the impacts of prematurity and respiratory interventions on neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Ellie Tarlow, Ph.D., was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Tom Jongens at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis and subsequently obtained her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania. For the past decade, Ellie has been studying the influence of metabolism and mitochondrial function on behavior and cognition in genetic models of ASD.

Sara Taylor was a Neuroscience graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience at William and Mary, where she studied how attention, social cognition, and implicit bias related to autistic behaviors. In the Brodkin Lab, she plans to study at the intersection of neuroscience and genetics by relating social behaviors to genetic pathways implicated in ASD.

Jing Zhang, MHS, was a PhD student in Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. She received her Master of Health Science in Epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2016. She works on human genetics projects about autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Jing is interested in genetic epidemiology research in ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.