Biography

website:    https://www.seahlrowan.com/

Education:
B.A. (English Language and Literature), University of Michigan
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology), University of Michigan
Postdoctoral (NIMH T32: Development of Psychopathology: From Brain and Behavioral Science to Intervention), Vanderbilt University

Research Expertise:
Emotional health in autistic adults | Autism assessment and diagnosis

I study emotion processing and emotional health problems in the context of the autism spectrum. In my lab, we use behavioral and psychophysiological methods to learn about mechanisms underlying depression in people with autism, particularly autistic adults. We want to use that knowledge to develop more effective treatments to support emotional health in neurodivergent adolescents and adults.

My early research aimed to improve the accuracy and utility of commonly used autism diagnostic instruments. As a result, I am an author on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2), and I continue to teach and train others on assessment and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.

Selected Honors and Awards:
2000-2001 – Fulbright Scholarship, United States Department of State (Placement: Utrecht, The Netherlands)
2006 – International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) travel award
2006-2009 – Autism Speaks Predoctoral Training Fellowship
2010 – Marquis Dissertation Award, University of Michigan Department of Psychology
2014 – NICHD Interdisciplinary Training Conference in Developmental Disabilities (R13-HD057709) invited participant and travel awardee
2014 – Full scholarship awardee, Beck Institute Cognitive Behavioral Workshop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Representative Work:

1. Gotham, K. (May, 2019). Depressed mood and the autism spectrum. Invited panelist to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) panel “Addressing the Mental Health Needs of People on the Autism Spectrum.” Bethesda, Maryland.
2. *Han, G. T., Tomarken, A. J., & Gotham, K. (2019). Social and nonsocial reward moderate the relation between autism symptoms and loneliness in adults with ASD, depression, and controls. Autism Research, 12(6), 884-896.
3. *Pezzimenti, F., *Han, G., Vasa, R., & Gotham, K. (2019). Depression in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Invited review for American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Presidential Initiative: Depression in Special Populations, Special issue in Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 28(3), 397-409.
4. Gotham, K., Siegle, G., *Han, G., Tomarken, A., *Crist, R., Simon, D., & Bodfish, J. (2018). Pupil response to social-emotional material is associated with rumination and depressive symptoms in adults with autism spectrum disorder. PLOS One, 13(8).
5. *Unruh, K., Bodfish, J., & Gotham, K. (2018). Adults with autism and adults with depression show similar attentional biases to social-affective information. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
6. Gotham, K., Brunwasser, S., & Lord, C. (2015). Depressive and anxiety symptom trajectories from school-age through young adulthood in autism spectrum and developmentally delayed samples. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(5), 369-376.
7. Gotham, K., Pickles, A., & Lord. C. (2012). Trajectories of autism severity in children using standardized ADOS scores. Pediatrics, 130(5), e1278-84.
8. Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P., Risi, S., Gotham, K., & Bishop, S.L. (2012). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2). Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.

* Students mentored directly by K. Gotham.