About Dr. Caitlin Hudac
I study how factors within early infancy and childhood affect brain development and may have consequences for developmental trajectories. It is critical to characterize brain correlates of healthy (or "normative") development in order to accelerate our understanding of mechanisms of atypical development. Our lab seeks to capture patterns of learning and cognition associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), intellectual disability (ID), and social anxiety disorder (SAD). We evaluate possible factors -- including genetic etiology with a focus on deleterious mutations and specific connections to individual (behavioral) differences.
I will be starting an Associate Professor position at the University of South Carolina, starting August 2022.
Yes, I will take students interested in the Cognitive & Neural Science area at UofSC in Fall 2022.
I may also consider taking or co-mentoring students interested in Clinical-Community Program or Behavioral-Biomedical Interface Program at UofSC. Do reach out if you may be interested in joining my lab, the Brain Research Across Development Lab.
We will keep the B-RAD lab website with our research progress, so check that out for specifics on ongoing research opportunities and news about our work/lab.
I will be starting an Associate Professor position at the University of South Carolina, starting August 2022.
Yes, I will take students interested in the Cognitive & Neural Science area at UofSC in Fall 2022.
I may also consider taking or co-mentoring students interested in Clinical-Community Program or Behavioral-Biomedical Interface Program at UofSC. Do reach out if you may be interested in joining my lab, the Brain Research Across Development Lab.
We will keep the B-RAD lab website with our research progress, so check that out for specifics on ongoing research opportunities and news about our work/lab.
Education
University of Chicago, A.B. ('05, Human Development)
University of Nebraska, Ph.D. ('14, Developmental Psychology)
Faculty appointments
University of South Carolina (Aug 2022), Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Alabama (Aug 2019), Assistant professor, Center for Youth Development and Intervention
University of Alabama (Aug 2019), Assistant professor, Department of Psychology
Chronology of Dr. Hudac's experiences
2019 & ongoing - Heterogeneity of social brain - Unpacking the mechanism in adolescence: I launched my B-RAD Lab in 2019 with a focus on social attention and social motivation. Our goal is to understand the variability of the social brain in health development in order to understand the mechanisms in atypical development (ASD, ID, SAD) and generate targeted interventions. In addition to our ongoing projects (see Research page), we have several funded lines of research:
2014 - The impact of genetic etiology on the brain: My postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington was guided by Dr. Raphael Bernier (Director of the Research in Autism and the Brain (RAB) Lab) and Dr. Sara Jane Webb (Director of the Psychophysiology and Behavioral Systems Lab). We implement a "genetics-first" approach to detect subgroups of children with autism and a specific genetic etiology. I continue to collaborate with my colleagues at UW and now at UA on several funded projects that aim to uncover biomarkers related to the phenotype of rare genetic variants:
2010 - Social cognition in typical development: My graduate training at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was guided by Dr. Dennis Molfese and Dr. Anne Schutte. We conducted several lines of research:
2007 - Social brain in autism: I spent 3 years working with Dr. Kevin Pelphrey at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University. We researched the social brain in adults and young children with and without autism using fMRI, primarily.
2005 - Clinical work: After graduating from the University of Chicago (AB '05) in Human Development, I worked as a milieu (daily life) therapist at a pediatric residential treatment center. Each child struggled with different emotional and/or psychiatric problems, and it was rewarding to help in little and big ways. I wanted to learn more about how the brain works to see if we could ease those struggles.
University of Chicago, A.B. ('05, Human Development)
University of Nebraska, Ph.D. ('14, Developmental Psychology)
Faculty appointments
University of South Carolina (Aug 2022), Associate Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Alabama (Aug 2019), Assistant professor, Center for Youth Development and Intervention
University of Alabama (Aug 2019), Assistant professor, Department of Psychology
Chronology of Dr. Hudac's experiences
2019 & ongoing - Heterogeneity of social brain - Unpacking the mechanism in adolescence: I launched my B-RAD Lab in 2019 with a focus on social attention and social motivation. Our goal is to understand the variability of the social brain in health development in order to understand the mechanisms in atypical development (ASD, ID, SAD) and generate targeted interventions. In addition to our ongoing projects (see Research page), we have several funded lines of research:
- Evaluation of the underlying structure of adolescent social attention (PI: Hudac, NIMH R15) In this project, we seek to disentangle the cognitive processes involved in social attention including detection, coordinated behaviors, and social motivation.
- Social attention in ASD and SAD (PI: Hudac, pilot funds from University of Alabama). We are investigating how low-level mechanisms supporting social attention vary in adolescents with (a) autism and (b) social anxiety.
2014 - The impact of genetic etiology on the brain: My postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington was guided by Dr. Raphael Bernier (Director of the Research in Autism and the Brain (RAB) Lab) and Dr. Sara Jane Webb (Director of the Psychophysiology and Behavioral Systems Lab). We implement a "genetics-first" approach to detect subgroups of children with autism and a specific genetic etiology. I continue to collaborate with my colleagues at UW and now at UA on several funded projects that aim to uncover biomarkers related to the phenotype of rare genetic variants:
- Linking brain and behavior: A GRIN2B Biomarker (PI: Hudac, funded by GRIN2B Foundation)
- SCN2A biomarkers of attention (PI: Hudac, funded by FamiliesSCN2A Foundation)
2010 - Social cognition in typical development: My graduate training at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was guided by Dr. Dennis Molfese and Dr. Anne Schutte. We conducted several lines of research:
- Infant attention and language processing: We measured memory responses to speech sounds in full-term newborns at birth, as well as developmental changes as infants acquire language.
- Effects on cognition following concussion: We worked closely with UNL's Department of Athletics to evaluate long-term effects of concussion, as well tracking the ongoing recovery process.
- The infant social brain: My dissertation work targeted low- and higher-level sociocognitive integration during infancy between 6-10 months of age in a longitudinal study. I continue to work on this topic with Dr. Jessica Sommerville.
2007 - Social brain in autism: I spent 3 years working with Dr. Kevin Pelphrey at Carnegie Mellon University and Yale University. We researched the social brain in adults and young children with and without autism using fMRI, primarily.
2005 - Clinical work: After graduating from the University of Chicago (AB '05) in Human Development, I worked as a milieu (daily life) therapist at a pediatric residential treatment center. Each child struggled with different emotional and/or psychiatric problems, and it was rewarding to help in little and big ways. I wanted to learn more about how the brain works to see if we could ease those struggles.
