Elena Grigorenko, PhD
Research & Publications
Biography
News
Research Summary
Dr. Grigorenkoās primary interest is in understanding the co-contribution of genetic and environmental risk factors to the manifestation of developmental and learning disabilities in children. She is especially interested in how children with special needs, such as those infected with intestinal parasites or diagnosed with autism, succeed by capitalizing on their strengths. Her work in this area has contributed to the fieldās general understanding of the flexibility and malleability of human development. Dr. Grigorenkoās use of diverse methodologies, ranging from molecular genetics to cultural studies, enriches the field and provides more opportunities for understanding how children grow and mature. These methodologies include family designs (both behavioral and molecular-genetic) and educational intervention designs. To illustrate, her ongoing studies include research on international adoptees brought to the U.S. early in life; a study of rates of learning disabilities in harsh developmental environments with high rates of illness, intoxication, and poverty; and research on interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors for conduct problems. She is especially interested in studying risk factors for language and mathematics disabilities, autism, and violent criminal behaviors in pre-adolescent children.
Specialized Terms: Psychology; Learning disabilities; Neuropsychiatric genetics
Extensive Research Description
- Cognitive and linguistic adaptation of international adoptees in the US
- Learning disabilities in harsh developmental environments and their relation to infection, intoxication, and poverty in Africa
- Genes involved in language disorders in a genetically isolated population
- Genes involved in learning disabilities and cognitive processing, with special emphasis on studying minority samples in the US
- Interactions between genetic and environmental risk factors for conduct problems and the role of these factors in response to interventions in juvenile detainees
Research Interests
Child Development; Chronic Disease; Epidemiology; Learning Disabilities; Psychology; Public Health; Russia; Saudi Arabia; Global Health; Zambia
Public Health Interests
Child/Adolescent Health
Selected Publications
- Tracking CitationsChirkina GV, Grigorenko EL. Tracking Citations. Journal Of Learning Disabilities 2012, 47: 366-373. PMID: 23270837, DOI: 10.1177/0022219412471995.
- Gene Expression in the Human Brain: The Current State of the Study of Specificity and Spatiotemporal DynamicsNaumova OY, Lee M, Rychkov SY, Vlasova NV, Grigorenko EL. Gene Expression in the Human Brain: The Current State of the Study of Specificity and Spatiotemporal Dynamics. Child Development 2012, 84: 76-88. PMID: 23145569, PMCID: PMC3557706, DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12014.
- The COMT Val/Met polymorphism is associated with readingārelated skills and consistent patterns of functional neural activationLandi N, Frost SJ, Mencl WE, Preston JL, Jacobsen LK, Lee M, Yrigollen C, Pugh KR, Grigorenko EL. The COMT Val/Met polymorphism is associated with readingārelated skills and consistent patterns of functional neural activation. Developmental Science 2012, 16: 13-23. PMID: 23278923, PMCID: PMC3655431, DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01180.x.
- Rakhlin, N., Kornilov, S. A., Palejev, D., Koposov, R., Chang, J., Grigorenko, E. L. (2013). The language phenotype of a small geographically isolated Russian-speaking population: Implications for genetic and clinical studies of developmental language disorder. Applied Psycholinguistics, 34, 971-1003, DOI: 10.1017/S0142716412000094.Rakhlin, N., Kornilov, S. A., Palejev, D., Koposov, R., Chang, J., Grigorenko, E. L. (2013). The language phenotype of a small geographically isolated Russian-speaking population: Implications for genetic and clinical studies of developmental language disorder. Applied Psycholinguistics, 34, 971-1003, DOI: 10.1017/S0142716412000094.
- Elliott, J., Grigorenko, E. L. (2014). The Dyslexia Debate. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Elliott, J., Grigorenko, E. L. (2014). The Dyslexia Debate. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.