Invited Symposium 3: Pediatric Neuropsychology Medical Advances and Life Span Outcomes
Chair: Celiane Rey-Casserly, PhD
Director, Center for Neuropsychology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Credit Hours: 1.5
Level of Instruction: Intermediate
Invited Symposium 3: Pediatric Neuropsychology Medical Advances and Life Span Outcomes
Abstract & Learning Objectives:
Medical advances continue to improve the outlook for pediatric patients with a variety of acquired and congenital medical conditions. Such critical advances have an impact on lifespan outcomes for affected individuals. Neuropsychology plays a critical role in evaluating outcomes and informing clinical care for pediatric patients, with an increasing role in prevention. Neuropsychologists are essential members of interdisciplinary teams and ongoing medical management. Our symposium will present examples of the latest progress made over the last decade in the areas of sickle cell disease, demyelinating disorders, congenital heart disease, and cancer. Highlights include recent research on neurocognitive surveillance for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease including identification of risk and resilience factors and ways to reduce cognitive decline; discovery of the anti-MOG antibody in patients with demyelinating disorders and associated neuropsychological outcomes; advances in the understanding of congenital heart disease, the latest initiatives in the field, and discussion of neuropsychology’s role in the care of these patients; and advances in targeted therapies for childhood cancer, risks associated with cancer and its treatment into adulthood, and an application of a developmental, lifespan approach in the care of childhood cancer survivors. Following each presentation, there will be an opportunity for discussion and questions.
Upon conclusion of this course, learners will be able to:
1. Describe recent advances in medical care for pediatric sickle cell disease, demyelinating disorders, congenital heart disease, and cancer
2. Explain long-term neuropsychological outcomes in pediatric medical disorders
3. Assess the role of neuropsychology in advancing the field across pediatric medical disorders
Speaker Biography:
Celiane Rey-Casserly, PhD, ABPP directs the Center for Neuropsychology and the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Clinical Neuropsychology at Boston Children’s Hospital. She holds a faculty appointment at Harvard Medical School and is on staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and is board certified in clinical neuropsychology (subspecialty pediatric neuropsychology) through the American Board of Professional Psychology. Dr. Rey-Casserly holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from Boston University with internship at Children’s National Medical Center and neuropsychology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her clinical work has focused on neuropsychological functioning in children with complex (medical, neurological) disorders, providing services in English and Spanish. Her scholarly work examines neurobehavioral outcomes in neurofibromatosis-1 and childhood cancer.
Adam R. Cassidy, PhD, LP, ABPP
Mayo Clinic - Rochester
Speaker Biography:
Adam R. Cassidy, PhD, LP, ABPP is a board-certified pediatric neuropsychologist, Senior Associate Consultant, and Assistant Professor of Psychology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, where he has joint appointments in the Departments of Psychiatry & Psychology and Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. He is also a member the scientific staff at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Cassidy’s research focuses on understanding and optimizing neurodevelopmental and psychosocial outcomes in at-risk populations, primarily individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) and children exposed in utero to HIV. He is Co-Chair of the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative (CNOC) and a member of the American Heart Association writing group currently working on revising the 2012 Scientific Statement on the evaluation and management of neurodevelopmental outcomes in CHD. In addition to research, Dr. Cassidy has an active clinical practice, is Consulting Editor for the journals Child Neuropsychology and The Clinical Neuropsychologist, is Co-Guest Editing (along with Jacquie Sanz, PhD, ABPP) a special issue of Child Neuropsychology dedicated to neuropsychological outcomes in CHD, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology.
Andrew Heitzer, PhD, ABPP
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Speaker Biography:
Dr. Andrew Heitzer is an instructor and pediatric neuropsychologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. He completed his graduate training in clinical psychology at Wayne State University and his post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Heitzer co-leads a clinical service dedicated to providing neuropsychological evaluations to sickle cell patients at St. Jude. He leads the Brain Working Group of the Sickle Cell Clinical Research Intervention Program, a longitudinal multi-site study assessing a wide range of clinical outcomes in sickle cell disease.
Lana Harder, PhD, ABPP
Children's Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Speaker Biography:
Dr. Lana Harder leads the Neuropsychology Service and Neuropsychology training program at Children’s Health in Dallas, Texas. She holds dual faculty appointments and was recently promoted to Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She is board certified in Clinical Neuropsychology and is a board-certified Subspecialist in Pediatric Neuropsychology. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Neuropsychology. Nationally, Dr. Harder serves on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN) and the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) and serves on the Board of Directors and Medical and Scientific Council of the Seigel Rare Neuroimmune Association. Dr. Harder earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin; completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; and completed post-doctoral fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Harder has served as a Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Children’s since 2008. She was a founding member and is the current Co-Director of the Children’s Pediatric Demyelinating Diseases Clinic. Her research interests include neuropsychological outcomes for pediatric multiple sclerosis, anti-MOG associated disease, transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and neuromyelitis optica.
Jennifer Longoria, PhD, ABPP
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Speaker Biography:
Dr. Jennifer Longoria is an instructor and pediatric neuropsychologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. She completed her graduate training in school psychology at Texas Woman's University and her post-doctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at Henry Ford Health System. Dr. Longoria co-leads the Sickle Cell Assessment of Neuropsychological Skills (SCANS) program, a clinical service dedicated to providing neuropsychological evaluations to sickle cell patients at St. Jude. Her scholarly work examines neurobehavioral outcomes in sickle cell disease and hemophilia.