Researchers, clinicians, students, and families gathered on April 8, 2026, for the Rizzo Special Symposium, co-hosted by the IDDRC and Division of Child Psychiatry, drawing 300 attendees and highlighted cutting-edge research alongside lived experiences to foster a more comprehensive understanding of autism and neurodevelopmental disabilities and their care.
WashU Medicine adolescent psychiatric program provides a comprehensive network of care
Joanna Rosenthal shares insights on antepartum moms group, and integrated mental health support.
Cynthia Rogers receives the 2025 Elkes Research Award from American College of Neuropsychopharmacology for outstanding clinical contributions to understanding the brain and behavior.
Couple’s gift transforms their family’s challenges into hope for others, works with Dr. Greg Cejas and the WashU Autism Clinical Center.
To decode future anxiety and depression, begin with a child’s brain.
Eight individuals, including Joan Luby, recognized for their legacy to WashU Medicine, impact on the world
Dr. Cejas discusses the research on acetaminophen’s link with autism.
Recognized for community-based research to reduce preterm births, improve mental health during pregnancy
Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses what childhood anxiety is, when to be concerned, and more.
Dr. Gregory Cejas weighs in the discussion of scientists saying most brain changes that contribute to autistic traits occur before birth.
Drs. Caroline Hoyniak, Joan Luby and Diana Whalen explore the day-to-day impact of poor sleep on affect in early childhood
Dr. Andrea Giedinghagen discusses the intersection of teens, mental health and technology.
Dr. Eric Spiegel discusses election stress on children and how to talk to them about world issues and navigating differing opinions.
Dr. Andrea Giedinghagen on KMOV Channel 4 discussing Cellphones and Social Media impact on teens.
Dr. Michael Wenzinger weighs in on juveniles with suicide attempts.
New study from Joan Luby and Deanna Barch’s labs at WashU make case that ‘thrive factors’ in early development should be a public health priority
Findings by Joan Luby, Deanna Barch and Laura Hennefield emphasize need for early mental health screenings, interventions
Neha Navsaria, PhD discusses how a lot of times, we avoid having difficult conversations because we’re struggling to find the right thing to say.
With the number of school shootings, recently, many children are bound to be wondering when their number is going to come up. Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses how it is important to have an open-ended conversation with your child at the beginning of the year.
Back-to-school season is full of anticipation for both kids and parents. Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses ways to talk with children about their daily school experiences.
Dr. Michael Wenzinger, a staff psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine, has seen a few cases where teenagers have inadvertently consumed the combination of marijuana and fentanyl.
Jennifer Holzhauer, MSW, LCSW weighs in: As we move into a new phase where COVID-19 is more endemic, many of these memories will fade with the passage of time and the constraints of how much our brain can hold, but experts say it’s more than that.
Cynthia Rogers, MD and co-investigator Christopher Smyser, MD, have received a MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support their research focused on preterm babies’ brains as the children age.
Cynthia E. Rogers, MD, has been named the new Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and director of the William Greenleaf Eliot Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Drs. Rogers, Lenze and Tara Tinnin provide therapy and services to new moms
Dr. Eric Spiegel and colleagues discuss how we need to come together as leaders from behavioral health, ED, hospital medicine, hospitals and health systems, and community partners with ideas and innovation to address the youth mental health crisis.
Dr. Daniel Mamah’s ‘Washington Early Recognition Center’ specializes in youth psychosis, a state of mind that occurs when the brain cannot properly process information, causing a splintered reality in which sufferers cannot distinguish between what is real and what is not.
Part of Children’s Place Street will soon be named Nash Way – the change will honor a family whose legacy continues to define pediatric care in St. Louis.
Dr. Eric Spiegel weighs in on adolescent depression, and how there’s no one ‘right’ way to grieve, in relation to children who have lost a parent to COVID-19.
Congratulations to Simona Sarafinovska on being chosen as a recipient of an Autism Science Foundation Fellowship for her proposal “Molecular and Cellular Origins of Sex-Specific Social Motivation Deficits in Autism”, awarded to nine outstanding early-career researchers.
Angela Klocke, MPH, MSN, RN has been honored in the 2022 ‘Salute to Excellence in Health Care’ by the St. Louis American Foundation.
Dr. Susan Perlman is leading the first study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to look at the psychiatric toll of divorce on children, looking at brain imaging to determine if strong parent relationships protect children against the biological effects of stress and any future mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression.
Dr. Daniel Mamah and colleagues in Nairobi, Kenya, have shown that a screening tool developed at WashU can help predict in about 5 minutes whether young people are at high risk for schizophrenia and may go on to develop the illness.
A $15 million gift to St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine from St. Louis-area couple Bob and Signa Hermann aims to change how pediatric mental health care is provided in the St. Louis area by identifying and managing children’s behavioral health problems before they turn into crises.
Washington University researchers bred mice and grew stem cells derived from Jake’s blood to find ways to treat his disorder and look for answers to the larger puzzle of autism.
St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington Univ. are tackling the issue of behavioral health support with a new research center to serve as a platform to transform behavioral health starting with the family unit.
Dr. Ginger Nicol and other researchers have received a grant that aims to reduce burnout and promote mental health and wellness among healthcare workers.
Dr. Neha Navsaria offers guidance to families who want to reduce screen time while using technology in healthy ways.
Daniel Mamah is part of a study focused on young people at high risk of schizophrenia. Mamah and his colleagues plan to characterize symptoms that can help diagnose schizophrenia early, as well as identify biomarkers in the blood and brain that may help predict risk.
Drs. Schwarzlose and Luby weigh in on research which demonstrates how experiencing the adversity of poverty in childhood places children at risk for later hardships.
Dr. Eric Spiegel recommends getting back to good routines for parents and children — even if the routine of going to school is at home for the short time being.
Scientists at Washington University bred mice and grew stem cells derived from a research participant’s blood to study and find ways to treat his rare disorder – and look for answers to the larger puzzle of autism.
Dr. Cynthia Rogers at WUSM, along with scientists at 24 other sites around the country to conduct a comprehensive study aimed at understanding how prenatal factors and early life experiences influence brain development and behavior in infants and young children.
Dr. Susan Perlman’s Child Affect and Resilience to Experiences study marks the fist study to look at changes in the brain and biological system of children experiencing parental divorce, separation or conflict.
Clinical trial conducted in Brazil confirms results from the first trial of fluvoxamine for COVID-19, which was launched in early 2020 and led by Angela Reiersen, MD and Eric J. Lenze, MD
Dr. Angela Reiersen comments on generically available anti-depressant which may reduce the risk of severe Covid-19 disease by close to a third in people at high risk,
Dr. Neha Navsaria discusses on this episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ how children and adults remain resilient despite the isolation and stresses of the pandemic.
Dr. Shannon Lenze’s EleVATE study on an equitable model of prenatal care, including behavioral health skills building and which is imbued with trauma informed care and anti-racism principles, to receive honor from Generate Health