I am a neuroscientist and board certified psychiatrist and child and adolescent psychiatrist committed to reducing the problems of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) by examining mechanisms of perinatal risk factors. I have expertise in fundamental aspects of neurodevelopment and its interaction with maternal physiology during pregnancy. My lab is exploring basic molecular and cellular mechanisms by which maternal physiology influences brain development, including mechanisms by which the placenta is altered by maternal exposure to stress, inflammation, preeclampsia, and other pregnancy complications. Since my time as a postdoc when I developed expertise in psychiatric treatment of pregnant women and young children, I have focused my scientific career on studies of critical animal models for understanding perinatal brain development, both in terms of normal factors controlling neural processes and how disruptions may translate into understanding childhood psychiatric disorders. I also have experience with evaluating forebrain development and social/cognitive behaviors relevant to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through my postdoctoral work and continued collaboration with Flora Vaccarino. In my own lab, I have evaluated embryonic, postnatal, and adult brain and maternal inflammatory and placental transcriptomic changes with relevance to NDDs.