Spring 2024 postgraduate associate travel award recipients announced

Supported by the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC), a departmental travel award offers $500 towards the travel expenses of YCSC postgraduate research associates attending national or international scientific conferences. The award is typically offered twice per year, and prior awardees are not eligible.

The goals of this travel award are to encourage postgraduate associates to present their research at scientific conferences, facilitate their interacting with leaders in their fields of interest at these conferences, and support their career development. The awardees and related details for this round are as follows.

Spring 2024 Award Recipients

Catherine Bianco

Project title: Puppet Versus Human: Development of Selective Attention to Speaking Faces in the First Year of Life and Severity of restricted and repetitive behaviors is linked with diminished effortful control in neurodiverse toddlers

Mentors: Kasia Chawarska and Suzanne Macari

Conference: International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting

Doris Chen

Project title: The Role of Intolerance of Uncertainty in Associations between Family Accommodation and Youth Anxiety

Mentor: Eli Lebowitz

Conference: Anxiety and Depression Conference

Sophie Cramer-Benjamin

Project title: Effects of data-loss on assays for clinical stratification in autism: Results from the Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT)

Mentor: James McPartland

Conference: International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting

Nicole G. Herman

Project title: Trends in Maladaptive Behaviors among Autistic and Non-Autistic Youth Across Three Decades

Mentor: James McPartland

Conference: International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting

Emily Hong

Project title: Interpersonal and Non-interpersonal Positive Affect Are Associated with Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Neurodiverse Preschoolers

Mentors: Kasia Chawarska and Suzanne Macari

Conference: International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting

Gaoqianxue Liu

Project title: Using machine learning to predict early substance use using a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents

Mentor: Kammarauche Aneni

Conference: Society for Prevention Research (SPR)

Sophia Park

Project title: Aberrant behavior and parenting stress following a trial of PRT

Mentor: Pamela Ventola

Conference: International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting

Phuong B. Pham

Project title: Interactive effects of motivation and cognition in adolescents with depression and neurotypical peers

Mentor: Youngsun T. Cho

Conference: Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP)

Sara Paula Silber

Project title: Motor skills associate with restricted and repetitive behaviors but not social affect in autism

Mentor: James McPartland

Conference: International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting

Review Committee & Application Process

Applications for this cycle were evaluated by review committee members Tom Fernandez, Ellen Hoffman (committee chair), Jim Leckman, Paul Lombroso, Helena Rutherford, and Dorothy Stubbe. Applications are typically accepted in the fall and spring with deadlines of October 1 and April 1, with a total of ten awarded per year.

Eligible candidates must hold a position as YCSC postgraduate research associate and must submit an abstract that has been accepted for presentation (poster or oral presentation) at a national or international scientific conference with a focus on research performed as part of their role in the department. Additional information and application instructions are available on the center’s intranet.