Neurodevelopment, Autism Spectrum Disorders and related Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Signal transduction in development and plasticity, Autism spectrum disorders, Fragile X, Rett Syndrome, Tuberous sclerosis complex
Dr. Laura Mamounas joined the NINDS in 2001 and serves as a Program Director in the Neurogenetics Cluster at NINDS. She currently oversees research grants and programs in: the molecular determinants of neurodevelopment including neurotrophic factor signaling mechanisms; and childhood neurodevelopmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), tuberous sclerosis complex, Rett Syndrome, CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder, Angelman Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Phelan McDermid Syndrome, among other rare, genetic forms of ASD. Dr. Mamounas received her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Stanford University and completed her postdoctoral training in the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to joining the NINDS, Dr. Mamounas conducted basic research at the Gerontology Research Center/National Institute on Aging, and then was a faculty member in the Division of Neuropathology/Department of Pathology at Johns Hopkins where she directed an NIH-funded research program investigating the role of neurotrophic factor mechanisms in brain plasticity during neurodevelopment and aging.