Janet E. Lainhart, M.D.
Title: Associate Professor; Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology
Current Position: Medical Director, University of Utah Autism Clinic
Education/Training
- B.S. 1975, Michigan State University
- M.D. 1979, Wayne State University School of Medicine
- Pediatric Residency 1979-1982, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Adolescent Medicine Fellowship 1982-1984, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Psychiatry Residency, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship 1988-1990, The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Certifications
- American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics), Certified - does not expire 1985
- American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (Psychiatry), Certified 1995
- American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology (Sub: Child/Adol), Certified 1996
Honors
- Honors College; Michigan State University 1975
- The Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society 1979
- Meritorious Service Award, U.S. Army 1987
- Excellence in Teaching Award, University of Utah Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2003
Publications
- Lainhart JE and the NICHD/NIDCD Collaborative Program of Excellence in Autism. (2006) Head circumference and height in autism: a CPEA Network study. American Journal of Medical Geneticcs, 140:2257-74.
- Alexander AL, Lee JE, Lazar M, Boudos R, DuBray M, Oakes TR, Miller JN, Lu J, Jeong EK, McMahon W, .Bigler ED, Lainhart JE. (2007). A diffusion tensor imaging study of the corpus callosum in autism. NeuroImage, 34:61-73.
- Bigler E, Mortensen S, Neeley ES, Ozonoff S, Krasny L, Johnson M, Lu J, Provencal SL, McMahon W, Lainhart J. (2007). Superior temporal gyrus and autism. Developmental Neuropsychology, 31:217-38.
- Hobbs K, Kennedy A, DuBray M, Bigler ED, Petersen PB, McMahon W, Lainhart JE. (2007). A retrospective fetal ultrasound study of brain size in autism. Biological Psychiatry 62:1048-55.
- Lee JE, Bigler ED, Alexander AL, Lazar M, DuBray MB, Johnson M, Morgan J, Miller J, McMahon W, Lu J, Jeong EK, Lainhart JE. (2007). Diffusion tensor imaging of the superior temporal gyrus and temporal stem in autism. Neuroscience Letter, 424:127-32.
Academic Activities
- Dr. Lainhart's research focuses on understanding brain growth, development, and maturation in autism from the prenatal period into adulthood. She leads a multidisciplinary research team that uses high-resolution brain scanning to determine changes in the brain that are specific to autism and linked to clinical symptoms, course, and outcome. The goal of this research is to identify biomarkers of autism that can be used in determining the causes of autism, the brain mechanisms involved, early diagnosis, preventive interventions, and treatment. Dr. Lainhart's research is funded in part by the National Institutes of Mental Health and the Autism Speaks Foundation.
- Principal Investigator, NIMH Longitudinal Neuroimaging Study of Autism. Dr. Lainhart leads a multidisciplinary group of scientists who are using high-resolution 3Tesla MRI and diffusion tensor MRI to determine the patterns of brain growth, development, and maturation in autism, how these patterns are different from typical brain development, and how the patterns are related to the course of clinical features of the disease. Fetal ultrasounds and birth and early childhood growth data are used to determine the earliest patterns of brain growth and these are linked to longitudinal MRI, DTI, clinical, psychiatric, and neuropsychological data.
