Leadership
Dr. Elinor Sullivan (she/her/hers) - principal investigator
Dr. Sullivan received her Ph.D. in Physiology from OHSU in 2000 and her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Willamette University. She received her postdoctoral training at the University of California San Francisco and OHSU. Dr. Sullivan is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University and in the Division of Neuroscience at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Dr. Sullivan is actively involved in training future scientists through her teaching and mentoring of University of Oregon and Oregon Health & Science University graduate and undergraduate students. Dr. Sullivan’s research focuses on examining the influence of maternal metabolic state and dietary environment on offspring behavioral regulation, with an emphasis on behaviors that relate to mental health and behavioral disorders including autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and depression. Her areas of expertise include behavioral neuroscience, with training and expertise in behavior, brain development, developmental programming, maternal nutrition, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Dr. Joel Nigg (he/him/his) - co-principal investigator
Joel Nigg, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Vice Chair for Psychology, and Director of the Center for ADHD Research at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland Oregon. He obtained his AB at Harvard College, MSW at The University of Michigan, and PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. He is a licensed clinical psychologist with clinical experience in multiple settings. He is a leading researcher in the area of developmental psychopathology with a focus on ADHD. He is the author of 2 books on ADHD including a recent book written for parents: “Getting Ahead of ADHD: What Next-Generation Science Says about Treatments that Work and How you can Make them Work for Your Child” (2017, Guilford Press). His work is most known for contributions in the development of temperament and executive functioning in relation to early and ongoing development of ADHD and associated conditions.
Dr. Hanna Gustafsson (she/her/hers) - co-investigator
Dr. Gustafsson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). She received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and at OHSU. Her research explores the influence of prenatal and early life stress on children’s self-regulation and risk for psychopathology. Dr. Gustafsson has a particular interest in identifying the biological and family-level mechanisms through which early life stress influences children’s long term functioning.