Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Heather Volk, PhD, MPH, seeks to identify factors that relate to the risk and progression of neurodevelopment disorders.
Contact Info
624 N. Broadway, Hampton House 833
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US
Research Interests
Epidemiology; Neurodevelopment; Cognition; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Environment; Prenatal Exposure; Gene-Environment Interaction; Epigenetics; Air Pollution
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
Saint Louis University
2006
MPH
Boston University
2002
BA
University of Notre Dame
2000
Overview
Broadly, my research seeks to identify gene-environment interactions for neurodevelopmental disorders and more specifically on the effects of prenatal and early-life air pollution exposure on risk for autism spectrum disorder, inattention, and delayed cognitive development. Genetics, disease biomarkers, and environmental exposure biomarkers are incorporated into the evaluation of these relationships to examine underling biological mechanisms, improve exposure metrics, and evaluate susceptibility.
Honors & Awards
2014 Research included on Annual Review of Research Advancements from the Autism Science Foundation
2012 Research included on the Autism Speaks List of Top Ten ResearchAdvancements
2012 Research included on the Autism Speaks List of Top Ten ResearchAdvancements
Select Publications
Most recent publications
- Goodrich AJ*, Volk HE, Tancredi DJ, McConnell R, Lurmann FW, Hansen RL, Schmidt RJ. Joint Effects of Prenatal Air Pollutant Exposure and Maternal Folic Acid Supplementation on Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Research. In Press. *Doctoral Student was first author
- Kerin T*, Volk HE, Lurmann F, Eckel S, McConnell R, Hertz-Picciotto I. Association Between Air Pollution and Cognitive and Adaptive Function Among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2017 Sep 18. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3304-0. [Epub ahead of print] *Doctoral Student was first author
- Kim D*, Volk HE*, Girirajan S, Pendergress S, Hall MA, Verma SS, Schmidt RJ, Hansen RL, Ghosh D, Hertz-Picciotto I, Ritchie MD, Selleck SB. Interactions between air pollution exposure and copy number variation confer significant risk for autism. Autism Research. 2017 Sep;10(9):1470-1480. * co-first author
- Lyall K, Croen LA, Daniels J, Fallin MD, Ladd-Acosta C, Lee BK, Park BY, Snyder NW, Schendel D, Volk H, Windham GC, Newschaffer C. The Changing Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Annual Review of Public Health. 2017 Mar 20;38:81-102.