ASD Researchers at UNC

Director/UNC Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities

Joseph Piven, M.D., is the Thomas E. Castelloe Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology; Director, Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities; Co-Director, UNC NIH T32 Post Doctoral Research Training Program; Director, NICHD Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center; Director, North Carolina University Center of Excellence; and Director of the NIH ACE Network – Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS).

Dr. Piven’s research interests are focused on structural MRI, diffusion tensor imaging of the developing brain in autism and Fragile X, health services for individuals with developmental disabilities, and molecular and family genetic studies of the intermediate phenotypes in autism.  His work has emphasized interdisciplinary collaborations in imaging (MRI/DTI), behavioral-family and molecular genetics (linkage and association) studies aimed at elucidating the pathogenesis of autistic syndrome. He has been the principal investigator of two large-scale research centers on autism – an NIH STAART Center and NIH ACE Network; as well as an NICHD-funded P30 Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center and a T32 post-doctoral research training grant.

Dr. Piven is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications on neuropsychological mechanisms, brain/morphology/mechanisms and the genetics of autism and Fragile X Syndrome. He is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, a publication aimed at promoting interdisciplinary research on the pathogenesis of a range of neurodevelopmental disorders.  Dr. Piven was awarded the Scientist Developmental Award for Clinicians from 1992 — 1997 and the NIMH’s Independent Scientist Award in 1998 and 2003.