Amanda Cremone-Caira, PhD
Developmental cognitive neuroscientist
1 in 6 children between the ages of 3 and 17 are diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism. In 30 to 80% of these cases, children experience symptoms of co-occurring conditions (i.e., autism with symptoms of ADHD) which makes treatment recommendations especially difficult for clinical care providers.
The overarching goal of my research is to identify factors that increase vulnerability to symptoms and comorbidity of neurodevelopmental disorders. To explore these research questions, I combine measures of cognitive electrophysiology (i.e., EEG and ERP) with behavioral tasks in order to characterize neural correlates of cognitive and socioemotional outcomes during early childhood and inform targeted interventions.
ACADEMIC POSITIONS & EDUCATION
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology
Merrimack College
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
in the Department of Psychology
Assumption University
Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology
College of the Holy Cross
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Advised by Drs. Susan Faja and Charles Nelson
in the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience
PhD in Neuroscience & Behavior
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Advised by Drs. Rebecca Spencer and Jennifer McDermott
BS in Psychology and Biology
Merrimack College
Advised by Drs. Michael Stroud and Raymond Shaw
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Trajectories of Cognitive and Socioemotional Development
Throughout typical development, cognitive functions such as inhibition and working memory support an array of socioemotional outcomes including emotion regulation, self-control, and social communication. My research evaluates these outcomes in young children in order to identify early predictors or precursors of aberrant or atypical development.
Biomarkers of Developmental Outcomes
Accumulating evidence indicates that changes in the brain precede observable deficits in cognitive and socioemotional outcomes in young children. In my studies, we use measures of cognitive electrophysiology (namely EEG and ERP) to identify and characterize biomeasures of these outcomes.
Biopsychosocial Determinants of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
A complimentary line of my research explores how distal and proximal factors create challenges during early childhood. In the next several years, a primary focus of my research will be to examine the ways environmental (i.e., sleep) and sociocultural (i.e., SES) variables influence developmental trajectories of children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders.
Targeted Interventions
By integrating measures of cognitive electrophysiology with behavioral paradigms, across children with and without cognitive deficits, my studies can aid in the development of effective treatment strategies and, ultimately, improve long-term outcomes for young children. Relatedly, I also explore the influence of protective factors that reduce or eliminate risk for maladaptive outcomes.
PUBLICATIONS
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2023)
Cremone-Caira, A., Braverman, Y., MacNaughton, G.A., Nikolaeva, J.I., & Faja, S.
Autism (2020)
Cremone-Caira, A., Trier, K., Sanchez, V., Kohn, B., Gilbert, R., & Faja, S.
Clinical Neurophysiology (2019)
Cremone-Caira, A., Vaidyanathan, A., Hyatt, D., Gilbert, R., & Faja, S.
Research in Developmental Disabilities (2019)
Cremone-Caira, A., Buirkle, J., Gilbert, R., Nayudu, N., & Faja, S.
Featured in the Centre for Autism, Middletown, UK Research Bulletin
Journal of Attention Disorders (2019)
Cremone-Caira, A., Root, H., Harvey, E.A., McDermott, J.M., & Spencer, R.M.C.
Child Neuropsychology (2018)
Cremone, A., Lugo-Candelas, C.I., Harvey, E.A., McDermott, J.M., & Spencer, R.M.C.
Experimental Brain Research (2017)
Cremone, A., Lugo-Candelas, C.I., Harvey, E.A., McDermott, J.M., & Spencer, R.M.C.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology (2017)
Cremone, A., McDermott, J.M., & Spencer, R.M.C. (2017).
Child Development (2017)
Cremone, A., de Jong, D.M., Kurdziel, L.B.F., Desrochers, P., Sayer, A., LeBourgeois, M., Spencer, R.M.C., & McDermott, J.M.
Developmental Science (2016)
Cremone, A., Kurdziel, L.B.F., Fraticelli, A., McDermott, J.M., & Spencer, R.M.C.
TEACHING
Over the course of my career, I have had the privilege of teaching undergraduate classes and advising research assistants at both large, R1 universities and small, liberal arts colleges. In these positions, I have worked with students from diverse sociocultural and academic backgrounds with a wide-range of research interests and career goals.
As a first-generation college student, I have first-hand experience of the myriad of benefits that come from a positive mentoring experience. As such, I am dedicated to creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment within and beyond the classroom.
Student testimonies are provided below. Summarized teaching evaluations are also available upon request.
"I appreciate [Prof. Cremone-Caira's] availability. Also [her] whole calm, laid back, approachable energy is amazing and made me feel that this class was less intimidating."
"Professor Cremone-Caira was great at providing helpful material in interesting ways so that it was understandable and not boring." |
"The PowerPoints were great and Prof. Cremone-Caira always had fun activities to help us understand the material." |
"Office hours were incredibly helpful throughout the entire semester, and having a very positive attitude all the time and a smile really made the class better for me."
"[Prof. Cremone-Caira] was funny and related topics to everyday life which was very helpful in helping me [learn the course material]." |
"Incredible professor, would recommend 100% of the time."
"Prof. Cremone-Caira made class very enjoyable, she is always able to capture the attention of the class and makes learning exciting." |
"[Prof. Cremone-Caira] cares SO much. You can tell she really loves teaching and is dedicated to it."
Feedback on course instruction following the transition to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (Spring 2020)
"Live lectures were great! Felt like we were back in our normal classroom."
"Always super available and flexible to our new situation of remote-learning. Thank you for being so understanding and flexible! I also appreciated how you always checked in on how we were doing and brought up stuff to make us laugh and get through the hard time."
CONTACT INFORMATION
Copyright 2020