Principal Investigator

Molly Losh, Ph.D.
Jane and Michael Hoffman Associate Professor
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL 60208
m-losh@northwestern.edu
Lab Phone: 1-877-275-7187
Frances Searle Building, Rm 2-366

Molly Losh’s research focuses on autism and related neurogenetic disorders. Specifically, her studies adopt clinical-behavioral and family-genetic methods and designs to characterize patterns of language strengths and weaknesses that define particular developmental disabilities, and examine ties to neuropsychological and genetic underpinnings.

Postdoctoral Fellows

Jane’s primary research interests are investigating the biological links underlying developmental disorders in children and assessing the effectiveness of training techniques. She worked with children with reading disorders during her Ph.D. at Northwestern University and first became excited about developmental disorders during her undergraduate at Colgate University. Jane spends her free time playing intramural sports at Northwestern and enjoys reading with her two cats.

Graduate Students

Abigail Hogan-Brown is a Ph.D. student in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and has been a member of the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Lab since starting the program in 2010. Abby earned her B.S. in Psychology from West Virginia University, and worked for several years as a behavior therapist and then a research assistant before beginning her doctoral program at Northwestern. She is interested in language and social cognition in individuals with autism and their siblings. Her current research focuses on defining specific quantitative phenotypes, such as rapid automatized naming abilities, which can be used in future genetic studies of autism. When she isn’t busy being a graduate student, Abby loves knitting, reading, and taking her dogs to the beach.

Michelle is a PhD Student in the Clinical Psychology department at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a B.A. in Psychology and English, and has several years of experience working with children with disabilities. She is interested in the relationship between language and social cognition and how this relationship can inform our understanding of autism. When she isn’t in the lab, Michelle loves reading, running and exploring Chicago.

Nell is a PhD student in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She graduated from Texas Christian University with a B.S. in Psychology and has worked with families affected by autism since 2006. Her research interests include understanding the genetic basis of autism spectrum disorders and how broader phenotypic characteristics, such as language qualities, might provide clues to solving this mystery. In her free time, Nell enjoys running with her dog Stella, cooking, and improv comedy.

Research Staff

Stephanie graduated from University of Iowa with a BA degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She has worked with children with developmental disabilities and volunteers at H.A.V.E Dreams with children who have autism. She is interested in language acquisition in individuals with developmental disabilities and plans to apply to Master’s programs in Speech and Language Pathology.

Christine is a research project coordinator in the Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Laboratory and a speech-language pathologist. She completed her M.S. degree in communication sciences and disorders at Purdue University where she spent two years working with children and families in neuro-biological research. Through her clinical work as a speech-language pathologist, she worked directly with children with ASD and became interested in language development in children with autism. In her free time, she enjoys practicing yoga, spending time outdoors, and playing with her dog Riley.

Christie joined the NDL laboratory in January 2013 as a Project Coordinator. She earned her BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University and is a Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst. In addition to coordinating the NDL, she provides developmental and behavioral therapy to children with social, developmental, and behavioral difficulties. Her main research interest involves the influence of gender on the manifestation of autism symptoms and the most effective approaches to identifying and treating girls and women with developmental deficits. On her free time, Christie enjoys participating in book club, exploring Chicago, and attending events on the Northwestern campus.

Shannon is a lab coordinator in the NDL who oversees the projects in the lab. She has a strong background in psychological research, and is interested in the impact of early childhood experience and stress reactivity and the physiological basis of social behavior. She became interested in the neurobiology of autism after her involvement with several studies focusing on autonomics and vagal function in children with autism in her prior work at the University of Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants and traveling with her husband. She and her husband especially enjoy combining their two interests and look to Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations when planning new destinations.

Brynn is interested in working with children with autism through Applied Behavioral Analysis. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College with a B.A. in Psychology and hopes to become a board certified behavior analyst.

Undergraduate Students

Kyle is a double major in Psychology and Art Theory and Practice. She loves volunteering with children who have autism, and got involved in autism research as a result. She is currently working on her senior thesis in the NDL, and hopes to eventually go to graduate school in learning science or special education.

Deanna is a junior majoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders and minoring in Global Health, and is hoping to pursue a career in the medical field in the future. Her interests include running, spending time with her family, and camp counseling during the summer.

Bret is a double major in Psychology and Biological Sciences. He is interested in eyetracking as a method of elucidating abnormal cognitive processing strategies in individuals with autism and plans to pursue a career in medicine. He also enjoys Nilla wafers and wears funny t-shirts.

Holly Romaniak is a Psychology major and a CSD minor. She is interested in cognitive development and social cognition, especially in neurodevelopmental disorders, and plans to apply to PhD programs in the future.

Cummings is a Senior in WCAS with a major in Psychology and minor in Global Health. As a hopeful medical student, she is interested in complementing her clinical experiences by exploring the research side of helping clinical populations. Fun facts about Cummings include that she obsessed with prime numbers, mountains, and raspberries.

Sejal is a CSD major and is a pre-med student. She is an active member of Autism Speaks U on campus and is interested in the genetic basis of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Joanne is a Psychology major on the pre-medicine track. She enjoys working with children and learning about psychological disorders. She also volunteers with the Balanced Mind Foundation.