Researcher | Research Overview
Dr. Susan Faja studied Neuroscience at the University of Michigan before receiving her doctoral degree in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington in 2009. She completed an internship at UCLA in the developmental disabilities track and postdoctoral fellowships focused on clinical neuroscience at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Washington. Her research at the Laboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Division of Developmental Medicine focuses on the executive control, social cognition and social perception of children with autism spectrum disorders and other neurodevelopmental delays.
In particular, the Faja Lab seeks to understand changes in these systems resulting from targeted interventions by using electrophysiological as well as behavioral measurement tools. This approach allows for exploration of the developmental processes that contribute to behavioral symptoms, understanding how interventions work, and provides a platform for rigorously testing novel interventions. In addition, the Faja Lab is interested in understanding why individuals with autism spectrum disorders have such striking differences in their development. Understanding these individual differences will lead to better understanding of the causes of neurodevelopmental disorders and allow for treatments to be delivered with more precision and efficiency.