Robin P. Kochel, PhD

I received master’s degrees in Child and Family Studies (University of Tennessee, Knoxville) and Clinical Investigation (Baylor College of Medicine), as well as a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Following graduation, I continued my training at the Virginia Institute of Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics until 2005, when I joined the lab of Dr. Arthur Beaudet at BCM to collaborate on studies of autism.

I have had a keen interest in children with developmental differences, particularly autism, since my graduate studies in Tennessee, when I worked in the Child Development Labs and connected with a preschooler who had developmental delays. My current research interests focus on phenotypic characterization of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with genetic mutations that have been linked to ASD. Toward this end, I have managed data collection for the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) and Simons Variation in Individuals Project (SVIP) at the BCM/TCH site (http://sfari.org), with our newest Simons venture being SPARK, which stands for Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (www.sparkforautism.org/texaschildrens). Additionally, I conduct research on the phenomenon of developmental regression in children with ASD, potential causes of regression, effects on long-term outcomes, and how families perceive and manage ASD after they observe such skill losses.

You can learn more about my research programs by visiting my lab page.