 | Dr. Fred R. Volkmar |
Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, newly appointed as the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Psychology and Pediatrics, is leading investigations into autism and related disorders, such as Asperger's syndrome.
Volkmar has a long-standing interest in these illnesses, which affect millions of individuals in the United States alone, and in the early 1990s led the team that developed the definition of autism used by the American Psychiatric Association.
He is the principal investigator on longitudinal and follow-up studies of children with autism being conducted at 10 centers nationwide. Yale is the lead site of this research, which will include neuroimaging, research into the genetic basis of autism and a study of Asperger's syndrome.
With his Yale colleagues, Volkmar is also studying biomedical and behavioral aspects of autism -- such as the visual scanning patterns of people with autism (i.e., whether they focus on another person's eyes, mouth, expressions or bodily movements), their auditory preferences and their ability to recognize faces. By understanding how these behaviors relate to the disorder, the researchers hope to develop ways to identify infants and young children with autism, so intervention can begin as early as possible. Volkmar is part of the effort to create a humanoid robot that can be used as an interactive diagnostic device for the disorder.
Volkmar is the author of "Clinical Aspects of Child Development" (with M. Lewis), as well as numerous book chapters and articles. He is the editor of several books, including "Psychoses and Pervasive Developmental Disorders" and "Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders" (with D. Cohen).
After receiving his B.S. at the University of Illinois at Urbana, Volkmar attended Stanford University, where he earned an M.A. in psychology and an M.D., and was a resident in psychiatry. He came to the Yale Child Study Center in 1980 as a fellow in child psychiatry, and joined the faculty in 1982 as assistant professor of child psychiatry, pediatrics and psychology. He has held the Harris chair twice before: as an assistant professor in 1987 and as an associate professor in 1988. He became a full professor in 1998. Volkmar is a consulting and chief psychiatrist at Benhaven School, a facility for youths with autism, and at the Yale Psychiatric Institute. He also serves on the faculty of the Western New England Institute for Psychoanalysis.
He is a fellow of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and serves on numerous national and international committees on autism. His honors include the Blanche F. Ittleson Award of the American Psychiatric Association.
T H I S
Dr. Fred Volkmar is named
the Irving B. Harris Professor
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