Background

Dr. Roberts received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill then spent 10 years at UNC as a research investigator and scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute. Her work focuses on understanding the biological mechanisms that underlie cognitive and behavioral functioning in children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, fragile X syndrome, and AD/HD. Dr. Roberts joined the faculty at USC in 2008.

Research

Dr. Roberts' current research focuses on:

    - Developmental trajectories in infants and young children with autism spectrum disorder and fragile X syndrome
    - Genetic and psychosocial contributions to mood and anxiety disorders in women with the fmr1 premutation
    - Physiological arousal, anxiety and stress in young children with neurodevelopmental disorders

For more detailed information regarding Dr. Roberts' research, funding, and teaching, you can review her vitae or visit her project website (www.uscdevlab.com).

Representative Publications

Ezell, J., Hogan, A. L., Will, E., Smith, K., & Roberts, J. (2021). Cardiac Startle Response and Clinical Outcomes in Preschool Children with Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in Psychiatry-Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 12. 

Guy, M. W., Richards, J. E., Hogan, A. L., & Roberts, J. E. (2021). Neural correlates of infant face processing and later emerging autism symptoms in fragile X syndrome. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 716642.  

Will, E. A., & Roberts, J. E. (2021). Motor Influences on Communication: Comparisons Between Down Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 126(6), 460–476. 

Hogan, A. L., Hunt, E., Smith, K., Black, C., Bangert, K., Klusek, J., & Roberts, J. (2021). Trajectories of Heart Activity Across Infancy to Early Childhood Differentially Predict Autism and Anxiety Symptoms in Fragile X Syndrome. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12. 

Roberts, J. E., Bradshaw, J., Will, E., Hogan, A. L., McQuillin, S., & Hills, K. (2020). Emergence and rate of autism in fragile X syndrome across the first years of life. Development and Psychopathology, 32(4), 1335–1352.