Drs. Kaczorowski and Smith are actively engaged in research which informs the PEAKS Clinic approach to psychological, neuropsychological, and educational assessment and intervention.

 

Dr. Kaczorowski's clincial research examines brain-behavior relationships in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. During her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard, she focused on understanding neuropsychological factors associated with a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood (beginning at age 2), such as autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disability, learning disorders, and genetic syndromes. Her graduate research focused on understanding genetic, neurological, and neuropsychological risk factors in child and college-aged populations identified as vulnerable for schizophrenia. She has received several awards for her research, including the most outstanding masters thesis at UNCG and in the southern region of the United States.

 

For the past 10 years, Dr. Smith's research program has focused on the: 1) interplay between genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors in the development of risk for ADHD and related outcomes; 2) development of ADHD and comorbid disorders; and 3) intersection between psychiatric genetic research, psychiatric nosology, and legal policy and practice. Recently, he has become interested in neurogenetic disorders and translating research to develop interventions. He collaborates with the Division of Behavioral Genetics, Rhode Island Hospital, Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Children's National Health System. Dr. Smith has been an invited speaker at the CHADD International Conference on ADHD (audio of talk) and at UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium on Genomic Technology (click here for a picture).

 

Additionally, Drs. Kaczorowski and Smith have collaborated on projects spanning a range of topics, including: 1) a theory of a potential causal pathways to ADHD; 2) partnering with schools to better serve newly arrived students with refugee status; and 3) an ongoing meta-analysis of the neuropsychological correlates of a neurogenetic disorder.