Autism and Lifespan Development Track

Primary Supervisor: Blythe A. Corbett, Ph.D. Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Email: blythe.corbett@vumc.org

Number of Positions: 1

Salary: $31,200

Term: July 1, 2025 - June 28, 2026

National Matching Service (NMS) Number: 245411

OVERVIEW

The Autism and Lifespan Development Emphasis Track is designed to provide interns generalist training in clinical psychology with an emphasis on clinical assessment, intervention, and research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related neurodevelopmental disorders. The program is aimed for individuals with a background in assessment, research, and treatment of ASD that plan to pursue a career in clinical research. Core training in ASD is supplemented by training in diagnostic assessment, psychological testing, neuropsychological assessment, and elective experience in individual and group intervention. Training is conducted through the Division of Psychology and the Autism and Lifespan Development Research Program.

TRAINING

Consistent with the overall aims of the VUMC-IPP, the Autism Emphasis is conceptually grounded in the scientist-practitioner model of the profession. Training in clinical techniques is presented in a framework of science that underlies clinical practice. Competencies are acquired during service delivery, supervision, and participation in research. The intern will spend 2.5 days per week at their primary placement in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which will include 2 days focused on clinical assessment and treatment research on ASD in children, adolescents and adults and .5 day working on an individual research project (Dr. Corbett). One day will be spent on neuropsychological assessment in youth with complex medical and neurological conditions. The intern will spend 1 day per week in a secondary emphasis rotation (currently on Thursdays), and .5 days of didactic training and case presentation (held on Friday mornings). Details of the training experiences are described in detail in the Brochure. In brief, the training will:

• Provide interns with a core knowledge base of the clinical features, treatment, biobehavioral, psychosocial, and physiological features of ASD;
• Provide comprehensive training and experience in the assessment and treatment of the social, emotional, and behavioral features of ASD;
• Provide comprehensive training in diagnostic assessment of ASD and co-morbid psychiatric conditions;
• Expand the intern’s research repertoire and expertise.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

Training is designed to establish competency in the following areas as they relate to autism spectrum disorders:

• Diagnostic assessment and clinical phenotyping across the lifespan
• Intervention
• Neuropsychology
• Research

In addition, the intern will gain significant training from Andrew Molnar, Ph.D., a child neuropsychologist who provides assessment and intervention services to patients from birth to young adulthood with a variety of neurological and medical conditions.  

At the end of the internship, the intern should be able to function competently, autonomously, and with confidence in a variety of clinical and research settings.  

Training Schedule

Autism and Lifespan Development General Schedule

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

In consideration of the goals of the Autism and Lifespan Development track, applications from interns whose achievements reflect a strong commitment to pursue careers in academic clinical and/or research settings will be viewed favorably.  Prior graduate training/experience and research in autism spectrum disorders is essential.  

The Autism and Lifespan Development intern will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing clinical research studies conducted in the Social Emotional NeuroScience Endocrinology (SENSE lab) https://senselab.vkcsites.org. The SENSE lab research program aims to evaluate social interaction and stress responsivity of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  In the multidimensional studies, several methods are used including neuropsychological measures, sophisticated behavioral observational techniques, assessment of biological markers of arousal (e.g., cortisol and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)), and neuroimaging techniques (i.e., event related potentials, ERPs). Moreover, the SENSE program is fundamentally translational through the inclusion of naturalistic paradigms, peer mediation and novel therapeutic approaches that have been informed by previous and ongoing studies in the lab.

RECENT PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS WITH INTERNS AND POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS

Corbett, B.A., Muscatello, R.A., Tanguturi, Y., McGinn, E., Ioannou, S. (2019). Pubertal Development Measurement in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comparison Between Physical Exam, Parent- and Self-Report. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(12) 4807-4819. PMCID: PMC6842435.

Muscatello, R.A., Andujar, J., Taylor, J.L., Corbett, B.A. (2020). Exploring Key Physiological System Profiles at Rest and the Association with Depressive Symptoms in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. PMCID: PMC7606213

Schwartzman, J., & Corbett, B.A. (2020). Higher depressive symptoms in early adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder by self- and parent-report compared to typically-developing peers. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorder, 77. PMCID: PMC7423017

Corbett, B.A., Vandekar, S., Muscatello, R. A., Tanguturi, Y.  (2020). Pubertal timing during early adolescence: Advanced pubertal onset in girls with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research. PMCID: In progress.

Corbett, B.A., Muscatello, R., Horrocks, B.D., Klemencic, M.E., Tanguturi, Y. (2021). Assessing health status in pre-to-early youth reveals differences in Body Mass Index (BMI) in children with autism spectrum disorder compared to same-age typically developing children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51 (8), 2790–2799. PMCID: PMC8041918.

Corbett, B.A., Schwartzman, J.M., Muscatello, R.A., Libsack, E.J., Lerner, M.D., Simmons, G.L., & White, S.W. (2021). Camouflaging in Autism: Examining Sex-Based and Compensatory Models in Social Cognition and Communication. Autism Research, 14: 127–142. doi: 10.1002/aur.2440. PMCID: In progress.

Corbett, B.A., Muscatello, R.A., Kim, A., Patel, K., and Vandekar, S. (2021). Developmental Affects in Physiological Stress in Early Adolescents with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Muscatello. R.A., Kim, A., Vandekar, S., and Corbett, B.A. (2021). Evidence for Decreased Parasympathetic Response to a Novel Peer Interaction in Older Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Control Study. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. 

Corbett, B.A., Klemencic, M. , Muscatello, R.A., Schwartzman, J.M. (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 on Stress, Anxiety, and Coping in Adolescents with and without Autism and their Parents. Online ahead of print April 29, 2021.

Schwartzman, J.M., Williams, Z., Corbett, B.A. (2021) Diagnostic and sex-based differences in depression symptoms in autistic and neurotypical early adolescents. Online ahead of print.

Muscatello, R.A. Kim, A., Vandekar, S., and Corbett, B.A. (2022). Diagnostic and Physical Effects in Parasympathetic Response to Social Evaluation in Youth with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, (2) 3427-3422. PMCID: PMC8770262.

Muscatello, R.A., Kim, A., Rafatjoo, E., Mirpuri, K., Vandekar, S., & Corbett, B.A. (2022). Salivary Testosterone in Male and Female Youth with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross Sectional, Case-Control Study. Molecular Autism, 13(1):37. PMCID: PMC9484057.

Schwartzman, J., Williams, Z., Jacobs, A., Patterson, A. and Corbett, B.A. (2023). Community-guided measurement-based care for autistic youth and adults receiving psychotherapy: A conceptual overview and pilot implementation study of MBC-AUT. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, 1-18.

Schwartzman, J., Muscatello, R.A., Corbett, B.A. (2023). Assessing suicidal thoughts and behaviors and non-suicidal self-injury in autistic and non-autistic early adolescents using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale. Autism. Online ahead of print, April 23.

PRIMARY AND AFFILIATED FACULTY

Primary Faculty

Blythe Corbett, Ph.D. 
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Andrew Molnar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Affiliated Faculty and Staff

Carissa Cascio, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Brianna Lewis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Rachael A. Muscatello, Ph.D.                                                                               

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral  Sciences