The National Institute of Mental Health is pleased to invite you to attend a series of lectures dedicated to innovation, invention, and scientific discovery.
Cynthia Rogers, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Washington University and Associate Director for the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Equity. Dr. Rogers co-directs the Washington University Neonatal Development Research (WUNDER) group, a multidisciplinary lab that uses multimodal MRI including functional, structural, and diffusion MRI to understand how adverse exposures like poverty, strucutral racism, prematurity, and prenatal substance use affect the brain at birth and alter brain development across childhood in racially and sociodemographically diverse populations. Clinically, Dr. Rogers is a perinatal and child psychiatrist and co-directs the Washington University Perinatal behavioral Health Service
In her talk, Dr. Rogers will begin with an overview of adverse exposures and what is known about their influence on child development discussing exposure to poverty, crime, as well as pre- and postnatal exposures to psychopathology and substance use. Research from Dr. Rogers and her collaborators will be reviewed along with work from others. Ongoing longitudinal studies examining the role of social determinants on neonatal brain development and subsequent social emotional development will be emphasized along with discussions about prevention and intervention strategies to optimize child development.