Department of Psychiatry

Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research Group

About us

Erin Flanigan, I received my Bachelors degree from Fort Lewis College, in Psychology. I am the Project Coordinator of the Anxiety Study. My interest in research started when I was in college, taking a research methods class. I became particularly interested in schizophrenia and worked for 3 years with adults who have the disorder. This experience revitalized my interest in research on development. My future goals include going to graduate school and becoming a researcher who studies schizophrenia.

(303) 315-1748

Erin.Flanigan@UCHSC.edu

Kym Gilchrist, I received my Bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies, with an emphasis on Genetics and Sociology at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC. I am the Project coordinator for the Williams syndrome study and have a particular interest in understanding how genetic conditions influence learning. My interest in research in disabilities began after volunteering with children with special needs. My future goals are to become a genetic counselor at a children’s hospital and someday work with children and families affected by hereditary cancer and or immuno-deficient genetic diseases.

(303) 315-1748

Kym.Gilchrist@uchsc.edu

Susan Hepburn, I began working with children and adults with developmental disabilities in 1984, while I was in college at Penn State University. I worked for 6 years in residential treatment services for adults with autism in Massachusetts from 1986-1992. Then, I entered graduate school and studied child clinical psychology with Wendy Stone at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Stone studies early identification of autism and I was fortunate to learn how to conduct longitudinal studies of development under her guidance. I came to the University of Colorado Denver as an intern in Clinical Psychology, studying with Drs. Judy Reaven and Sally Rogers. Then, when Dr. Rogers took a position at the M.I.N.D. Institute at the University of California - Davis, I was promoted to Asst. Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and have been directing the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research Group since 2002.

(303) 315-6491

Susan.Hepburn@uchsc.edu

Alison Herndon, I joined the Autism Research Group in August of 2004 as a Professional Research Assistant and project coordinator of the Longitudinal Study. I completed my undergraduate work at College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio with a major in Psychology and minor in Chemistry. It was in college that I was first introduced to research and developed an interest in it. I was drawn to developmental research because I am interested child development and what might be learned through it. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the children and families I have met thus far, and I am excited to continue meeting and working with more families in the future. I am interested in pursuing a career in research, and hope to attend medical school in the next year or two.

(303) 315-1748

Alison.Herndon@UCHSC.edu

Galit Mankin, M.S.W (2003) I graduated from the University of Colorado Denver with a B.A. in Psychology (Dec. 2000) and received a Master’s diploma in Social Work from the University of Denver (June 2003). I became interested in developmental research after doing an internship at JFK Partners during my senior year at UCD. My future goals focus on expanding my skills on an administrative level including a program development, staff supervision and budget management.

(303) 315-1253

Galit.Mankin@UCHSC.edu

Shana Nichols, Ph.D., I am currently a post-doctoral fellow in psychology at the University of Colorado Denver through the Autism Research Studies in the Department of Psychiatry and the Autism and Developmental Disorders Clinic at JFK Partners. I recently moved to Colorado from Canada, and completed my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I have been interested in children’s development since high school when I taught swimming and worked as a camp counselor. I began to do developmental research with preschoolers during my undergraduate degree and became very interested in autism and developmental disorders when I worked as a home therapist before starting my PhD. Very quickly I fell in love with this field and with working with children with disabilities and their families. After completion of my post-doctoral fellowship, I hope to continue to combine a career that involves clinical work, research, teaching, and community service to best support families and their children. My specific areas of interest include negotiating adolescence and all that comes along with growing up such as social skills, friendships, puberty, sexuality, and becoming independent.

(303) 315-0267

Shana.Nichols@UCHSC.edu

Amy Philofsky, Lead Clinician, Researcher, and Speech-Language Pathologist

I received my bachelor's degree from Northwestern University, my master's degree at the University of Colorado, and am currently working on my doctorate at Colorado State University.

I feel very lucky to have been encouraged to pursue research....I came to JFK right after finishing my master's degree, because I knew I wanted to work with children with autism. My first job at JFK was in a training role that allowed me to work on and develop my skills as a speech-language clinician working with some wonderfully talented and knowledgeable experts in the field. At the end of my training year, Dr. Rogers asked me if I'd be interested in joining her research team- a group that had been looking at the development of young children with autism. I joined the team and my passion for autism- in a research context- has grown along with the team! I've also come to appreciate understanding and working with other groups of children through my experiences on the team- children with Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, and Williams syndrome.

I really hope to continue doing what I'm doing....working with children and families in a research setting. Since I have begun my own doctoral work, I'm hoping to someday author my own grants and continue focusing on understanding language and pragmatic characteristics of children with different disabilities.

(303) 315-7224

Amy.Philofsky@UCHSC.edu

Ben Yerys, Advanced graduate student in Psychology, Clinician-Researcher. I earned my bachelor’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis, MO with a major in Psychology and a specialized minor in Text and Tradition (study of classic philosophy, history, and literature). I have been attending the University of Denver for graduate studies in Clinical Child Psychology and Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. I earned my master’s degree in the spring of 2003, and currently collecting data for my dissertation thesis which examines memory development and problem-solving skills in children with autism.

As a high-school senior and college student I spent time working as a specialized teaching assistant in a preschool with children with developmental disabilities. This experience sparked my interest in understanding the relationship between atypical brain development and developmental delays. As a Clinical Psychologist, I will continue my research and clinical work examining memory and problem-solving skills in children with developmental delays, learning disabilities, and acquired head injuries.

(303) 315-1780

byerys@nova.psy.du.edu