David Pauls, Ph.D., Principal Investigator
Cornelia Illmann, Ph.D., Project Director
Jeremiah Scharf , M.D., Ph.D., Clinician
Evelyn Stewart, M.D., Clinician
Research Assistants:
Sarah Glaser, B.A.
Adrianne Alpern, B.A.
Elizabeth Flamm, B.A.
Elizabeth Sadock, B.S.
Thank you!
We want to extend a sincere thank you to all of the
families who participate in
our studies.
Everything we have learned so far and everything we will learn in the future is made possible by your generous participation.
Participate
in our research!
Help us learn more about Tourette
Syndrome (TS), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
and Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder (OCD).
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185 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02114. Tel: 617 726-0891. Toll Free: 800 471-2730. E-mail us
David Pauls, Ph.D.
Director of PNGU, Principal Investigator
Dr. Pauls became director of the newly created PNGU in September 2001. Over the past 30 years, his research has focused primarily on the genetics of child neuropsychiatric disorders. Research under his direction has led to a better understanding of the inheritance of GTS, OCD and dyslexia. At the present time he leads an international consortium of investigators devoted to finding genes for GTS and related conditions.
Dr. Pauls is a Professor of Psychiatry (Genetics) and Director of the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit in the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Prior to moving to the Harvard Medical School in September 2001, he was the Professor of Psychiatric and Neurobehavioral Genetics in the Child Study Center at Yale University. Dr. Pauls completed his Ph.D. in Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Minnesota with a focus on human population genetics. After completing his Ph.D. he was a post-doctoral fellow in psychiatric genetics at the University of Iowa and psychiatric genetic epidemiology in the Department of Human Genetics at Yale School of Medicine.
Over the last 30 years, his research has focused on understanding the underlying genetic mechanisms important for the expression of human behavior. His primary goal has been to understand the etiologic mechanisms (both genetic and non-genetic) that underlie the manifestation of specific behaviors that begin in childhood and continue over the life course. His research has focused on four different developmental neuropsychiatric disorders: the Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), high functioning autism/Asperger's syndrome and specific reading disability. In the past decade, the approach has been to examine components of the clinical phenomenology of each of these conditions and their transmission within families. Over the years, Dr. Pauls' laboratory has employed clinical, quantitative and molecular genetic approaches, including:
- family/genetic studies
- segregation studies examining the transmission of specific phenotypes
- genetic linkage and association studies designed to localize and characterize genes that confer susceptibility to these conditions
- prospective longitudinal studies designed to exploit the linkage findings to examine the interactions of identified genes and environmental factors
Cornelia Illmann, Ph.D.
Project Director
Dr. Illmann is currently the Project Director/Co-Investigator for the Genetic Linkage Study of TS and the Family Genetic Study of TS, ADHD, and OCD. She completed her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology at the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. She holds appointments as an Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and as an Assistant in Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research interests include Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Sensory Over-Responsiveness, and language disorders.
Jeremiah Scharf, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant in Neurology
Tic Disorders Clinic
Massachusetts General Hospital
Staff Neurologist
Brigham Behavioral Neurology Group
Brigham and Womens Hospital
Instructor in Neurology
Harvard Medical School
Dr. Scharf is a behavioral neurologist and tic disorder specialist as well as a clinical researcher in molecular genetics. He completed his B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, his M.D. from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) at Harvard Medical School, and his Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard University, where he studied neurogenetics under Dr. Louis Kunkel. Following his neurology residency at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's Hospitals, Dr. Scharf completed subspecialty training in behavioral neurology and neuropsychiatry at the Brigham Behavioral Neurology Group as well as a research fellowship in the PNGU under Dr. David Pauls. He specializes clinically in disorders that lie at the interface between neurology and psychiatry, particularly in Tourette Syndrome and related conditions. His research efforts focus on the genetic underpinnings of TS as well as exploration of heritable subphenotypes of this disorder that might prove useful for future research studies and clinical trials. He is a member of the TSA International Consortium for Genetics, a team of clinicians and molecular geneticists dedicated to identifying susceptibility genes for TS. Dr. Scharf has also received a Research Award from the Tourette Syndrome Association.
Evelyn Stewart, M.D.
Dr. Stewart is a child and an adult psychiatrist as well as a clinical researcher. She is an attending physician at the MGH Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Clinic and at the MGH Pediatric OCD/ Tourette's Disorder Clinic. Dr Stewart is a member of the Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit at MGH. She is Instructor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and Director of Research at the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Institute, McLean Hospital. Dr. Stewart attended Dalhousie University School of Medicine, Canada, and completed General psychiatry and Child psychiatry subspecialty residency training at the University of Ottawa, Canada. She subsequently completed an OCD research fellowship at McLean Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Stewart has written several papers on genetic, clinical and treatment aspects of OCD, Tourette's Disorder and related illnesses. She sits on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Obsessive-Compulsive Foundation. Her clinical, teaching and research efforts focus on the genetics of OCD and on OCD throughout the lifespan. In collaboration with Dr. David Pauls and others at the PNGU, and clinical researchers such as Dr. Michael Jenike at MGH, studies investigating candidate genes of OCD are underway.
Sarah graduated from Boston University and joined PNGU in June, 2006. While studying abroad in London during her junior year of college, she worked at a psychiatric inpatient unit for children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. As an undergraduate, Sarah was also involved in a neuropsychology research lab studying dyslexia and phonological processing. Her research interests include understanding how children's development affects their behavior and learning, as well as cross-cultural influences.
Adrianne Alpern, B.A. While studying Neuroscience and Behavior at Vassar College, Adrianne collaborated in research to investigate the psychophysiology of coping. She developed an interest in childhood-onset psychiatric disorders during her three summers as a counselor at a camp designed to empower kids with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. Her research interests include the morbidity of psychiatric and medical conditions, therapeutic recreation for medical populations, and anxiety disorders in children.
Elizabeth Flamm, B.A.
Prior to joining PNGU, Lizzy earned her BA in Psychology and English Literature at
