The Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's current and upcoming clinical trials include studies on ADD and aggression, bipolar disorder and pediatric epilepsy. The division also is involved in longitudinal and other studies examining a variety of important research questions.
Dr. Gabrielle Carlson has been involved in two funded longitudinal studies. One project focuses on late teens and adults with a first episode of psychosis. The other study is following a community sample of preschool children to examine the effects of certain kinds of temperament in predicting future depressive disorder.
Dr. Judith Crowell is the principal investigator of a longitudinal study that will investigate the role of family factors and acute and chronic trauma and stress, including racism, on the development of metabolic syndrome (precursors to adult onset diabetes and heart disease). Based at Judge Baker Children's Center, Harvard Medical School, the project received a 5-year NIA funded grant in June 2009.
Dr. Deborah Weisbrot has been involved with the Lourie Center for Pediatric MS as their psychiatric consultant. In addition to in-depth clinical evaluations, there are ongoing studies of psychiatric aspects of pediatric multiple sclerosis. As an outgrowth of this research, Dr. Weisbrot has published one of the first papers describing psychiatric aspects of demyelinating disorders in children and adolescents. She is a long-standing member of the Physically Ill Child Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.