The Bradley Campus Research Unit, under the direction of Gregory Fritz, MD, is part of the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center (BHCRC). Its offices are located in the east wing of the Laufer building on the Bradley Hospital campus in East Providence, RI.
The unit is home to the Pedi-MIND program, The Developmental Disorders Genetics Research Program, Neuroplasticity and Autism Disorder Program and the Health Services Research Program.
Pedi-MIND Program
The goal of the Pedi-MIND program is to identify biological and behavioral markers of psychiatric illness in children and adolescents in order to improve diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these conditions. Daniel Dickstein, MD sees patients in the outpatient clinic. For more information and to enroll in a study, please visit Pedi-MIND program.
Daniel Dickstein, MD, is the director of Bradley Hospital's Pediatric Mood, Imaging and Neurodevelopment Program (Pedi-MIND). Board certified in pediatrics, psychiatry, and child/adolescent psychiatry, he is also an associate professor of both psychiatry and human behavior as well as pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
He was previously an assistant clinical investigator with the pediatric and developmental neuropsychiatry branch at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Dickstein earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University, and is a graduate of the school's triple board program, a combined residency in pediatrics, general psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry, that leads to board eligibility in all three specialties after five years of training.
Dickstein leads Bradley's Pedi-MIND research program, which uses brain imaging techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and behavioral measures to identify biological markers of psychiatric illness, including bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. Such markers could help physicians make more accurate diagnoses. Dickstein also treats outpatients at Bradley on a limited basis.
Honors
In 2009, Dickstein received a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Bio-behavioral Research Award For Innovative New Scientists (BRAINS Award), one of only seven awarded in the program's inaugural year. Dickstein is the recipient of numerous additional awards, including the NIMH's Richard J. Wyatt, MD, Memorial Fellowship Training Award for outstanding scientific accomplishment, NIMH's Mentor of the Year Award, National Institutes of Health Fellows' Award for Research Excellence, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outstanding Resident Award.
Selected Publications
A Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dickstein has authored more than 75 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.
Frías Á, Dickstein DP, Merranko J, Gill MK, Goldstein TR, Goldstein BI, Hower H, Yen S, Hafeman DM, Liao F, Diler R, Axelson D, Strober M, Hunt JI, Ryan ND, Keller MB, Birmaher B. "Longitudinal cognitive trajectories and associated clinical variables in youth with bipolar disorder." Bipolar Disord. 2017 Jun;19(4):273-284.
Wegbreit E, Cushman GK, Weissman AB, Bojanek E, Kim KL, Leibenluft E, Dickstein DP. "Reversal-learning deficits in childhood-onset bipolar disorder across the transition from childhood to young adulthood." J Affect Disord. 2016 Oct;203:46-54.
Dickstein DP, Axelson D, Weissman AB, Yen S, Hunt JI, Goldstein BI, Goldstein TR, Liao F, Gill MK, Hower H, Frazier TW, Diler RS, Youngstrom EA, Fristad MA, Arnold LE, Findling RL, Horwitz SM, Kowatch RA, Ryan ND, Strober M, Birmaher B, Keller MB. "Cognitive flexibility and performance in children and adolescents with threshold and sub-threshold bipolar disorder." Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2016 Jun;25(6):625-38.
Dickstein DP, Puzia ME, Cushman GK, Weissman AB, Wegbreit E, Kim KL, Nock MK, Spirito A J Child Psychol Psychiatry. "Self-injurious implicit attitudes among adolescent suicide attempters versus those engaged in nonsuicidal self-injury." 2015 Oct;56(10):1127-36.
Dickstein DP, Pescosolido MF, Reidy BL, Galvan T, Kim KL, Seymour KE, Laird AR, Di Martino A, Barrett RP. "Developmental meta-analysis of the functional neural correlates of autism spectrum disorders." J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2013 Mar;52(3):279-289.e16.
Dickstein DP, Finger EC, Skup M, Pine DS, Blair JR, Leibenluft E. "Altered neural function in pediatric bipolar disorder during reversal learning." Bipolar Disord. 2010 Nov;12(7):707-19.
Developmental Disorders Genetics Research Program
The Developmental Disorders Genetics Research Program seeks to identify genes associated with autism and intellectual disability so that it can be detected and diagnosed earlier and more accurately and treated more effectively. Eric Morrow, MD, PhD, sees patients on the Bradley campus. His genetics and neuroscience research lab is located at Brown University. For more information or to enroll in a study, please visit the Developmental Disorders Genetics Research Program.
Eric Morrow received his PhD in genetics and neurodevelopment at Harvard University and his medical degree from the Health Science Training Program at MIT and Harvard Medical School.
During this medical training, Dr. Morrow developed a strong interest in the scientific challenges posed by childhood neuropsychiatric disorders. He conducted further clinical and scientific training in neurology and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Morrow was MGH Rappaport Neuroscience Scholar and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School prior to coming to Brown University as assistant professor, department of molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry.
Most recently, Dr. Morrow was one of 102 recipients of the 2017 Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering—the government’s highest honor for a young scientist. The award was bestowed in recognition of his work on understanding and improving treatments for psychiatric conditions including autism and severe intellectual disability. President Barack Obama said in the announcement, “These innovators are working to help keep the United States on the cutting edge, showing that federal investments in science lead to advancements that expand our knowledge of the world around us and contribute to our economy.”
Neuroplasticity and Autism Disorder Program
The Neuroplasticity and Autism Disorder Program uses electrophysiological techniques to investigate contributors to autism spectrum disorders with the long-term goal of developing novel therapeutic interventions.
Lindsay Oberman received her PhD in experimental psychology at University of California, San Diego in 2007. While in graduate school she used electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) to study the brain basis of social impairments in children with autism spectrum disorders.
Oberman then obtained a mentored postdoctoral fellowship at the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Harvard Medical School where she developed paradigms using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to study brain plasticity and excitability in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
Oberman was an Instructor in the department of neurology at Harvard Medical School with appointments both at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Children’s Hospital, Boston prior to coming to Bradley Hospital.
Health Services Research Program
The Health Services Research Program focuses on identifying and remediating gaps in the care of young people struggling with mental health and substance use disorders.
Brady Case, MD, is medical director of the Bradley Hospital Intensive Program for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). He is an assistant professor (research) of psychiatry and human behavior at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and of health services, policy, and practice at the Brown School of Public Health.
Dr. Case earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University. He completed psychiatry residency and clinical research training at New York University and a child psychiatry fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, where he was trained in the treatment of pediatric OCD.
Prior to returning to Brown, Case was a research psychiatrist in the statistics and services research division at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and the NYU Child Study Center. He also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
His research has focused on the use and quality of care for pediatric mental disorders in the United States. He also has experience in examining patterns of mental health and substance use disorder, mental health service use in complex epidemiologic samples, public and private administrative claims, and health care provider surveys.
Rhode Island Consortium for Autism Research and Treatment (RI-CART)
RI-CART’s mission is to improve the lives of Rhode Islanders with autism spectrum disorders by promoting collaborative, cutting-edge research, improving health care and support services, and providing data-driven education and advocacy. RICART is a collaboration between Bradley Hospital, Women and Infants Hospital, and Brown University. For more information or to enroll in a study, please visit RI-CART.
Stephen Jon Sheinkopf, PhD, has been a psychologist and assistant professor at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Bradley Hospital since 2001 and psychologist at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk at Women & Infants Hospital since 2005.
Sheinkopf has also held several university and hospital teaching roles. He has been an assistant professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior since 2001, and has had a secondary appointment in the Department of Pediatrics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University since 2008. Sheinkopf has also been a member of faculty at Brown University’s Brown Institute for Brain Science since 2003.
Sheinkopf is a graduate of Tufts University. He earned master’s degrees in psychology and doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Miami. He completed his internship at the Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium, and fellowship training at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University under a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Health.
Research Interests
Sheinkopf’s research interests include the early identification of autism and developmental disabilities in infancy, development of children at risk, and social and communication development and psychophysiology. He has been principal investigator and co-investigator of several research studies focused on autism and child development.
Selected Publications
- Sheinkopf, S. J., Lester, B. M., Sanes, J. N., Eliassen, J. C., Hutchison, E., Seifer, R., LaGasse, L., Durston, S., & Casey, B. J. (2009). Functional MRI and Response Inhibition in Children Exposed to Cocaine In Utero: Preliminary Findings. Developmental Neuroscience, 31, 159-166.
- Sheinkopf, S. J., LaGasse, L. L., Lester, B. L., Liu, J., Seifer, R., Bauer, C. R., Shankaran, S., Bada, H., & Das, A. (2007). Vagal tone as a resilience factor in children with prenatal cocaine exposure. Development and Psychopathology, 19, 649-673.
- Sheinkopf, S. J., Mundy, P., Claussen, A. H., & Willoughby, J. (2004). Infant Joint Attention Skill and Preschool Behavioral Outcomes in At-Risk Children. Development and Psychopathology, 16 (2), 273-291.
- Sheinkopf, S. J., Mundy. P., Oller, D. K., & Steffens, M. (2000). Vocal atypicalities in preverbal autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 345-354.
- Sheinkopf, S. J. & Siegel, B. (1998). Home based behavioral treatment of young autistic children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 28, 15-23.