Our People

Recruitment of New Investigators

The Children’s National DC-IDDRC services federally-funded and foundation grants. Junior faculty members who are applying for their first federal grant but are not yet funded are potential exceptions. New investigators are accepted into the DC-IDDRC through a multi-step process (see figure below):

Prospective investigators submit a one-page summary of the project describing its relevance to intellectual and developmental disabilities research (IDDR) and the need for support from core services. Applicants must document current Institutional Review Board (IRB)/Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval if relevant, and will be requested to supply documentation of renewal of these approvals.
The Executive Committee determines if the project meets Children’s DC-IDDRC criteria and warrants the use of one or more core facilities. If the project is approved for relevance to IDDR, the principal investigator on the project is notified and approved for core usage. In case of initial rejection by the Executive Committee, an appeal can be made to the DC-IDDRC director.

Executive Committee

William Gaillard, M.D. – Co-Director, DC-IDDRC, Director, Animal and Human Imaging Core, Children's National Hospital
Tarik Haydar, Ph.D. – Co-Director, DC-IDDRC, Children's National Hospital
Madison Berl, Ph.D. – Co-Director, Neurobehavioral Evaluation Core, Children's National Hospital
Joshua Corbin, Ph.D. – Co-Director, Neurobehavioral Evaluation Core, Children's National Hospital
Andrea Gropman, M.D. – Director, Clinical Translational Core, Children's National Hospital
Jyoti Jaiswal, Ph.D. – Director, Cell and Tissue Microscopy Core, Children's National Hospital
Susan Knoblach, Ph.D. – Associate Director, Genomics and Bioinformatics Core, Children's National Hospital
Hiroki Morizono, Ph.D. – Associate Director, Genomics and Bioinformatics Core, Children's National Hospital
Anastas Popratiloff, M.D., Ph.D. – Co-Director, Cell and Tissue Microscopy Core, George Washington University
John Van Meter, Ph.D. – Co-Director, Animal and Human Imaging Core, Georgetown University
Paul Wang, Ph.D. – Co-Director, Animal and Human Imaging Core, Howard University

External Advisory Committee

Leonard Abbeduto, Ph.D.
Director, UC Davis MIND Institute
Tsakopoulos-Vismara Endowed Chair
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
School of Medicine UC Davis MIND Institute

Michael J. Friedlander, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion (VTC)
Vice President, Health Sciences and Technology, Virginia Tech
Senior Dean, Research, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Professor, Biological Sciences, College of Science, Virginia Tech
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, College of Engineering, Virginia Tech
Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Elizabeth Dykens, Ph.D.
Co-Director, University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities
Professor, Psychology and Human Development
Professor, Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University

Michael Robinson, Ph.D.
Director (MPI), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center
Director, Training Program in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
Professor, Pediatrics
Professor, Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics
Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania

Other National IDDRC Programs and Sponsors

Learn more about other IDDRC programs and sponsors in the United States.