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Nancy Lee Raitano

Nancy Raitano Lee, PhD

Associate Professor
Director, Clinical Neuropsychology Major Area of Study
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

Education:

  • PhD, Clinical Psychology (Child), University of Denver, 2006
  • MS, Clinical Psychology (Child), University of Denver, 2002
  • BS, Human Development and Family Studies, Cornell University, 1997

Curriculum Vitae:

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Research Interests:

  • Neuropsychology
  • Clinical child psychology
  • Down syndrome
  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Brain
  • Neuroimaging
  • Developmental disorders

Bio:

I am a clinical psychologist who specializes in developmental neuropsychology. At Drexel, I teach in the undergraduate and graduate programs. I joined the faculty in 2014 after doing a clinical fellowship focused on developmental disorders and a research fellowship focused on structural neuroimaging. I am particularly passionate about training the next generation of psychological scientists who are committed to supporting the well-being of individuals with developmental disorders through the provision of high quality clinical care and the completion of rigorous research. My students have the opportunity to work closely with me on several grant-funded research projects in the LADDER (Learning And Developmental Disabilities Educational Neuropsychology Research) Lab. The mission of the lab is to increase knowledge about the causes and correlates of the complex learning difficulties associated with different developmental disorders, such as Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder. I am particularly interested in functional life skills such as communication and reading abilities as well as work readiness skills in these groups. My team’s multidisciplinary work has been funded by private and government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. We currently have two active projects that are focused on executive function skills or higher level thinking skills in children and young adults with Down syndrome. These projects are examining relations between executive function and independent living skills (like activities of daily living and employment). They are also looking at the neural correlates of executive function using a portable neuroimaging technology called functional near infrared spectroscopy or fNIRS for short. In addition to this work on Down syndrome, I collaborate with colleagues at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute and other universities on studies of health and real world outcomes among autistic adults.

Selected Publications:

Lee NR, McQuaid GA, Grosman HE*, Jayaram S, Wallace GL. Vocational Outcomes in ASD: An Examination of Work Readiness Skills as well as Barriers and Facilitators to Employment Identified by Autistic Adults. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Nov 17;:1-14. doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05804-8. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 36394783; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9670084.

Csumitta KD*, Gotts SJ, Clasen LS, Martin A, Raitano Lee N. Youth with Down syndrome display widespread increased functional connectivity during rest. Sci Rep. 2022 Jun 14;12(1):9836. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-13437-1. PubMed PMID: 35701489; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9198034.

Lee NR, Niu X*, Zhang F, Clasen LS, Kozel BA, Smith ACM, Wallace GL, Raznahan A. Variegation of autism related traits across seven neurogenetic disorders. Transl Psychiatry. 2022 Apr 7;12(1):149. doi: 10.1038/s41398-022-01895-0. PubMed PMID: 35393403; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8989950.

Csumitta KD*, Stephan CM, LaQuaglia RI, Miller E, Lee NR. Updated profiles of everyday executive function in youth with Down syndrome using the BRIEF-2. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2022 Jan;66(1-2):68-80. doi: 10.1111/jir.12879. Epub 2021 Sep 22. PubMed PMID: 34549846.

Stephan C*, Clasen L, Adeyemi E, Lee NR. Speech Impairments Explain Unique Variance in Adaptive Behavior Skills in Young People With Down Syndrome. Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2021 Jan 27;30(1):253-259. doi: 10.1044/2020_AJSLP-20-00054. Epub 2020 Nov 16. PubMed PMID: 33197320; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8740564.

Hamner T*, Hepburn S, Zhang F, Fidler D, Robinson Rosenberg C, Robins DL, Lee NR. Cognitive Profiles and Autism Symptoms in Comorbid Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2020 Apr;41(3):172-179. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000745. PubMed PMID: 31599791.

Udhnani M*, Perez M**, Clasen LS, Adeyemi E, Lee NR. Relations between Everyday Executive Functioning and Language in Youth with Down Syndrome and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dev Neuropsychol. 2020 Mar-Apr;45(2):79-93. doi: 10.1080/87565641.2019.1706518. Epub 2020 Feb 16. PubMed PMID: 32063028; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7549751.

Lee NR, Perez M**, Hamner T*, Adeyemi E, Clasen LS. A preliminary examination of brain morphometry in youth with Down syndrome with and without parent-reported sleep difficulties. Res Dev Disabil. 2020 Feb 24;99:103575. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103575. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 32106035; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7483358.

* Graduate student author; ** Undergraduate student author