Division of Developmental Medicine

DBP fellows participate in weekly research seminars comprised of didactic sessions, journal club, and skills training in research design, methods and analysis. Each fellow will work directly with a research mentor to develop and implement a scholarly work project, and present their research quarterly to the Division during Works in Progress Sessions.  Fellows may have an opportunity to pursue an MPH at the Harvard School of Public Health or pursue more intensive research experiences beginning the summer at the end of their first year of fellowship. Fellows progress toward completing their scholarly work, culminating in presentation at regional and national meetings and preparing a manuscript for publication by the third year of their training.  Each fellow’s progress is monitored by the Scholarship Oversight Committee including two formal project presentations each year. 

Research Opportunities

Current research projects in the Developmental Medicine Center include a variety of topics encompassing topics and methods in basic science, translational, clinical and health services research. 

Fellows participate in formal didactic sessions reviewing research design and basic statistical approaches. Fellows have access to methodologists and statisticians to assist in planning studies and analyses, and when appropriate, research assistants may be assigned to help them with aspects of their research. Research computers and standard statistical software are available for use by fellows in all the programs.

Examples of current research in the Division include:

• Developmental screening in primary care
• Genetics of autism
• Effects of early institutionalization on child development
• Neurobehavioral Research on Infants at Risk for Autism and Specific Language Impairment
• Electrophysiological, Metabolic and Behavioral Markers of Infants at Risk for Autism
• Neural Markers for the Transition from Risk for Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorders (ADHD) to Stable Diagnosis
• Evaluation of face processing in children with autism
• Neurocognitive outcomes of infants of diabetic mothers
• Linking Music, Language and Reading
• Catching Dyslexia in Pre-Readers
• Office management of adolescent substance abuse
• Long-term outcomes of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
• Parent, provider, and teacher perspectives on quality of ADHD care
• Quality of life in children with ADHD
• Cross-cultural quality metrics for ADHD care

Recent Developmental-Behavioral fellows’ projects have included:

• Videogame use and ADHD
• Factors impacting parental choice with respect to adoption of a child
• Implementation of an autism-specific screening tool in continuity clinic
• Predictors of receipt of an IEP for children with an autism diagnosis
• Use of complementary and alternative medicine and quality of life in children with cerebral palsy
• Effect of requiring parental consent on adolescent participation in substance abuse research
• Teachers’ perspectives on collaborating with parents and clinicians on caring for children with ADHD