YCSC Connections
Featuring updates, news you can use, events, and more from the Yale Child Study Center.
Chair's Message
As we continue our focus on building a strong sense of community within our department, an incredible amount of hard work has been underway here at the Center, and I want to share my gratitude for these efforts and honor several accomplishments, which are highlighted below.
I have also personally enjoyed gathering both virtually and in person with so many in our community for a variety of recent events, including a very successful “in-house open house” earlier this month. Some photos from this event are linked to from the article below. In addition to our November 8th annual meeting of the associates – which I do hope many of you will join virtually – we also have a special Grand Rounds series focused on leadership beginning at the end of this month, and two book signing events coming up in November.
Indeed, we have much to be proud of within our community and beyond. At the same time, being together helps us bear the heaviness that too often surrounds us. Thank you, as ever, for joining in this work, supporting our missions, and caring for each other.
Linda Mayes, MD
Arnold Gesell Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology; Chair
Yale Child Study Center
Departmental News & Updates
Dr. James Comer: On Life and Leadership
In the latest edition of the Yale Child Study Center “On Leadership” blog post and newsletter column, YCSC Assistant Professor Daryn David, PhD shares excerpts from an interview with Maurice Falk Professor James Comer, MD, MPH, in part one of a two-part series.
Welcoming new YCSC community members: October 2023
The Yale Child Study Center welcomes new community members on an on-going basis. All new faculty, staff, and trainees are invited to share their bios upon joining the YCSC, and the latest submission is from Dan McGlade, in the YCSC Before and After Baby Lab.
Yale Child Study Center Community Celebrates Professional Progression
Several members of the Yale Child Study Center community recently came together in person to celebrate and recognize recent academic and professional progression among faculty and staff. Department Chair Linda Mayes (pictured) provided opening remarks and served cake to attendees.
Arkansas Lifespan Research Conference Reveals Opportunities
YCSC Research Scientist Amanda Dettmer delivered a keynote lecture at the inaugural Advancing Arkansas Lifespan Research Conference in September.
Source: UAMS Translational Research Institute NewsAneni and Lowell Selected as 2023 Viola B. Bernard Prize Winners
Yale Child Study Center Assistant Professor Uche Aneni and Associate Research Scientist Amanda Lowell have been selected as awardees of the 2023 Viola W. Bernard Prize in Social Innovation in Mental Health Care Delivery.
Yale Child Study Center Staff Spotlight October 2023: Meet Michele Badiali
In the latest edition of a spotlight series launched in February, meet Yale Child Study Center Accountant Michele Badiali, who has been in her current role for three and a half years.
Over 150 Attend Yale Child Study Center In-house Open House
Approximately 165 members of the Yale Child Study Center community came together in September to celebrate and recognize the diversity and broad expertise across the varied missions of the department. Attendees learned about and explored over 40 individual clinical, community, policy, research -- and entered to win several gift baskets that were raffled off as part of the event.
Leckman to receive Human Values Award
Yale Child Study Center faculty member James Leckman, MD, PhD has been selected to receive the Human Values Award through the World Culture Festival Global Leadership Forum to honor his work with the Early Childhood Peace Consortium.
Investigators Launch Study Aimed at Accelerating Understanding of Bipolar Disorder
A multidisciplinary team of researchers based at Yale will launch a series of studies aimed at accelerating understanding of bipolar disorder and generating new and more effective treatments. Hilary Blumberg, MD, John and Hope Furth Professor of Psychiatric Neuroscience and Professor of Psychiatry, and in the Child Study Center and of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, will lead the research team.
News You Can Use
Educational Videogame Intervention Encourages Teens to Get Tested for HIV
Teenagers made up an estimated 20 percent of new cases of HIV infection in the United States in 2020. The actual percentage, however, is likely to be higher because it is known that adolescents are the least likely of any age group to be aware of their HIV status and may unknowingly transmit the virus to others. Only 9 percent of high school students in the United States report ever being tested for HIV.
How to Break Through When Your Teen Tunes You Out
YCSC Associate Professor Dylan Gee was interviewed in this article on the possibility of meaningful conversations with teens, and what approaches may work better than others.
Source: The New York TimesScientists discover how dozens of genes may contribute to autism
Stanford University researchers have discovered several dozen genes that interfere with crucial steps in the brain development process and may lead to autism. Quotes James McPartland of Yale Child Study Center.
Source: Washington PostOpinion: Shifting the narrative of dyslexia
YCSC faculty member Ben Powers takes a strengths-based approach to addressing dyslexia in this opinion piece.
Source: CT PostOpinion: The Stressful College Admissions Process in a Post-Pandemic World
In this opinion piece, YCSC Associate Research Scientist Robin Stern and colleagues address some of the stresses teens face when applying for college and what parents can do to help.
Source: The MessengerTeenage Brain Development Study Forecasts Drinking Behavior by Sex
Researchers sorted through a massive MRI dataset of teenage brains to see if they could predict drinking behavior in adolescents by looking at how two systems rewire during development. The study revealed that the way inhibitory and reward pathways develop can help forecast how likely those teens are to drink heavily in the years to come.
In the Media
Voices of Change
YCSC Assistant Professor Chris Cipriano has been honored as a change-maker in education by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), and she reflects on her work and its impact in an interview excerpt published on the CZI blog.
Source: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative BlogTo Help Support Their Mental Health, Students Want Schools To Make These Changes
YCSC Professor Dorothy Stubbe is quoted in this article on the importance of addressing mental health as part of a social emotional curriculum in schools.
Source: Teen VoguePhysical and mental health toll on people trapped in war zones as Israel conflict continues
YCSC Professor Steven Marans is quoted in this article addressing the increased risk for anxiety and depression for residents of war zones.
Source: ABC NewsKate Middleton and Prince William Step Out for World Mental Health Day
YCSC Professor and YCEI Director Marc Brackett joined the Prince and Princess of Wales along with other mental health experts to bring young people together to talk about well-being on World Mental Health Day 2023.
Source: PeopleWorker training program highlighted at Brownfields Conference
YCSC Senior Research Scientist Suzi Ruhl is quoted in this article on a roundtable at the National Brownfields Training Conference of 2023, co-convened by YSCS/Elevate and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
Source: NIEHS Environmental FactorLooking at eye tracking’s potential for clinical trials
YCSC Professor Jamie McPartland was quoted heavily in this article addressing two new studies describing an electronic tool that uses eye tracking to aid autism diagnosis.
Source: Spectrum News'America's Got Talent' dancer brings shadow performance to Darien Arts Center
YCSC Professor Nancy Close is quoted from a 2021 blog post about the development of a stage production, "Woof Woof the Shadow Pup" that grew out of a bedtime routine with her children and her husband Gene, who used his hand to make shadow puppets on the ceiling. A shadow puppet of a dog, named Woof Woof, put the children at ease and they openly talked to it about their day.
Source: The Darien TimesSMA and mental health
YCSC Assistant Professor Areti Vassilopoulos was interviewed in this article on SMA, a genetic, progressive disease that causes muscle weakness and atrophy throughout the body.
Source: SMA News TodayOne More (Huge) Reason Not To Give Your Baby Screen Time
YCSC Associate Research Scientist David Lewkowicz is quoted in this article on the risks of screen time for very young children.
Source: Fatherly