Research

Research in the PRYDe lab strives to discover common biological, neuropsychological, and psychosocial pathways through which environmental experiences shape developmental outcomes. It is biopsychosocial, multidisciplinary, and focused on at-risk populations. Much of our current research aims at understanding risk and resilience among children with disabilities, children and young adults experiencing early adversity / maltreatment, justice-involved youth (JIY), and children / adolescents sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

The PRYDe lab has completed four externally funded grant projects investigating the impacts of child adversity on cognitive development. The first project was in collaboration with Dr. Paul Ingram (TTU) and Drs. Stuart White and James Blair (Boy’s Town National Research Hospital). This project investigated the role of child maltreatment on cognitive development, resilience, and intervention success in JIY (Bergquist et al., 2024; Dennis et al., , In Press; Schmidt et al., 2023). The second project was funded through the CH Foundation and investigated family and neuropsychological functioning within preschool children involved in the Head Start program (Gissandaner et al., 2022, 2024; Schmidt et al., 2020). The third project was a collaboration with Dr. Steven Hicks (Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine). This project focused on clarifying the role of micro-ribonucleic acids (miRNA) in the neuronal response to child adversity in JIY. MiRNA are small, non-coding strands of RNA which are potent epigenetic regulators of gene expression and cellular processes. Our findings provided the first evidence in an adolescent sample that miRNA are sensitive to child adversity through their role in regulating neuro-inflammation (Schmidt et al., 2024; Sullivan et al., 2022). Finally, I was the principal investigator on a project examining standards for psychological assessment of JIY (Schmidt et al., In Press). This project highlighted the multiple areas of need within JIY and made specific policy and treatment recommendations to ensure high-quality care for this vulnerable population (Hill et al., 2023). 

TBI sustained during development can lead to life-long cognitive, social, and behavioral deficits; however, the brain mechanisms underpinning these deficits and contextual factors ameliorating or exacerbating these changes are not well understood. Research in the PRYDe lab demonstrates that a child’s family, social, and community environments relate to their trajectory of recovery after TBI, influencing even basic cognitive processes and neurobiological indicators of brain resilience (Bammel et al., In Press; Holland & Schmidt, 2015; Maloney et al., 2020; Schmidt et al., 2010b, 2014, 2015; 2021). Finally, as part of the Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics by Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) group, we are working with an international team of collaborators to understand how pediatric TBI relates to longitudinal changes in brain structures implicated in behavioral deficits and cognitive impairments (Dennis et al., 2021; Keleher et al., 2023). 

Finally, the PRYDe lab received a large NIH grant to investigate the impact of social experiences on the physical and mental health and cognitive development of children who are blind or visually impaired (CBVI). This project is the first study ever funded by NIH to examine these experiences, and is, by far, the largest and most ambitious project designed to comprehensively examine the development of CBVI – a population often under-represented in prior research. We expect these findings to have an important positive impact and facilitate our long-term goals of developing programs uniquely tailored to improve the physical and mental health of CBVI and people with disabilities more generally. 

These research efforts exemplify our biopsychosocial approach, our appreciation of multi-disciplinary expertise, and our focus on at-risk populations. Moving forward, research in the PRYDe lab will continue to investigate foundational processes of positive and negative adaptation across populations.