Meet The Team - The KINDD Laboratory

Dr Shafali Spurling Jeste, MD

Chair and Executive Medical Director, Pediatrics, UCLA
Executive Director, UCLA Children’s Discovery & Innovation Institute
Professor and Mattel Executive Endowed Chair, Pediatrics, UCLA

Dr. Jeste is a behavioral child neurologist specializing in autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. As of October 2025, Dr. Jeste has transitioned to the Chair and Executive Medical Director of Pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles. She previously served as the Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the USC Keck School of Medicine, and the Las Madrinas Chair, Chief of Neurology and Co-Director of the Neurological Institute at CHLA from 2021-2025, and maintains a dual appointment at CHLA since her move. After earning a BA in philosophy from Yale University in 1997 and her MD from Harvard Medical School in 2002, Dr. Jeste completed a residency in child neurology and a fellowship in behavioral child neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital. She joined the faculty at UCLA in 2010, and then moved to CHLA in 2021.

Dr. Jeste’s research is focused on developing methods to improve precision in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. Her lab studies neurodevelopmental disorders from early infancy through late childhood. Dr. Jeste has designed innovative studies in early predictors of autism in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) that integrate biomarkers with behavior to define atypical development prior to the onset of autism. This work in TSC has led to the first randomized controlled clinical trial of behavioral intervention for these infants and has paved the way for other early intervention trials in rare genetic syndromes. Dr. Jeste’s research is directly inspired by her clinical work. To address the many gaps in medical care for rare genetic forms of neurodevelopmental disorders, she developed the Neurogenetics and Developmental Disabilities Clinic at CHLA. Dr. Jeste’s work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the Simons Foundation.

She holds several national and international leadership positions including the Board of Directors of the American Brain Foundation, Board of Directors of the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the Board of Directors of the International Society for Autism Research, and she recently served as the Chair of the International Baby Siblings Research Consortium. In 2019 she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her innovations in research in early predictors and intervention for genetic neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr Charlotte DiStefano, PhD

Lead Psychologist for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Services
Developmental and Behavioral Health Center
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Dr. Charlotte DiStefano is a clinical psychologist who specializes in neurodevelopmental disorders and related neurogenetic syndromes. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

After receiving a B.S. in Special Education from New York University and an Ed.M. in Mind Brain and Education from Harvard University, Dr. Charlotte DiStefano received her Ph.D. in Psychological Studies in Education from University of California Los Angeles. She completed her postdoctoral training in developmental neuroscience at the UCLA Center for Autism Research. Before earning her Ph.D., Dr. DiStefano worked as a special education teacher in both New York City and Los Angeles.

Clinically, Dr. DiStefano is the Lead Psychologist for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Services in the Developmental and Behavioral Health Program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where she oversees evaluation and treatment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. DiStefano’s primary research interests are language and cognitive development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly those who are minimally verbal. Her work has been funded by the Dup15q Syndrome Alliance, Angelman Syndrome Foundation, Autism Science Foundation, Autism Speaks and National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders.

Dr Rebecca Elias, PhD

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Behavioral Health Clinic & Boone Fetter Clinic
Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & the Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics
Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences , Keck School of Medicine of USC

Rebecca Elias, PhD (she/her) is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and USC. Her research focuses on understanding how the fundamental processes associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across the lifespan, influence the response to treatment and adult clinical outcomes.

Dr. Elias received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Tech where she worked under the mentorship of Dr. Susan White. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA in the Department of Psychiatry under the mentorship of Dr. Catherine Lord. She received her predoctoral internship from Indiana University School of Medicine. Prior to her graduate studies, Dr. Elias received her B.A. in Psychology from UC Berkeley. She has participated as a researcher and clinician in several NIH-funded clinical trials and has received independent funding through agencies such as the American Psychological Association. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach, exploring Los Angeles, and cooking.

Dr Abigail Dickinson, Ph.D.

Dr. Dickinson is an Assistant Research Scientist specializing in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and developmental neuroscience. Drawing on her expertise in high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and signal processing, Dr. Dickinson’s research seeks to characterize neurophysiological signatures that can help us understand individual variations in behavior and cognition in ASD. In this context, Dr. Dickinson has developed several innovative methods to assess and quantify brain network function in developmental populations, resulting in neural indicators that are now being explored for tracking intervention outcomes.

Dr. Dickinson obtained her MSc in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience and her PhD from the University of Sheffield, UK. In 2016, she joined UCLA as a postdoctoral researcher, where she currently directs the Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART) EEG Lab. Dr. Dickinson has recently launched a new research program focused on aging, which seeks to characterize age-related neural and biological correlates in adults with ASD.A

Rujuta B. Wilson, MD

Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Psychiatry
Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Psychiatry
Director of Research, UCLA Tarjan Center (University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD))
UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Dr. Rujuta B. Wilson is a behavioral child neurologist specializing in autism spectrum disorders and related neurodevelopmental disorders. She is an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology and Psychiatry at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART). She leads the motor phenotyping core of CART and is also a member of the UCLA Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) phenotyping core.

After completing a combined BA/MD program at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dr. Wilson completed her residency in pediatrics and child neurology at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. She was then the recipient of the Savant Behavioral Neurology Fellowship and completed her behavioral child neurology fellowship at the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment. Dr. Wilson has been committed to research and clinical care for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and neurogenetic conditions since medical school when she received a Child Neurology Foundation medical student grant to engage in clinical care and research for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Wilson’s research is focused on developing quantitative methods of motor phenotyping with the overarching goal of 1) improving characterization of motor development in individuals with developmental disabilities, 2) better understanding how specific motor differences can impact cognition and language, and 3) developing more targeted interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Her NIH-funded research evaluates motor development in infants at elevated risk for autism from early infancy through early childhood.

Dr. Wilson’s work also extends to measuring the physical and behavioral benefits of organized physical activity for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Through her clinical practice, Dr. Wilson recognized that motor difficulties experienced by individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities often leads to less engagement in physical activity, which can ultimately have long-term negative impacts on health and wellness. She also recognized the paucity of inclusive and adaptive physical activity interventions available for individuals with developmental disabilities. To target these issues, Dr. Wilson and Ms. Emily Coker (4th year medical student at UCLA and founder of the Expressive Movement Initiative) launched the UCLA chapter of the Expressive Movement Initiative (EMI) in October 2019, a program designed to introduce the art of creative movement and therapeutic dance to children with developmental disabilities. Dr. Wilson currently serves as the Neurology Node Director of the HRSA Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). The primary study associated with the AIR-P Neurology Node is a dance intervention for children with autism between the ages of 8-12 years old using the EMI model.

Additionally, Dr. Wilson has a longstanding commitment to education and training the next generation of clinicians and trainees. She serves as neurology faculty for the UC Leadership Education in Neurodiversity (UC-LEND) program. As an invited member of the American Academy of Neurology Education Committee, Dr. Wilson serves on numerous workgroups and subcommittees to improve training and education in child neurology. She is also the chair of the Best Practices Committee for ACEing Autism, a national organization providing weekly tennis classes to children with ASD.

Anna Achenbach

Psychometrist

Anna graduated Boston University with a degree in speech, language, hearing sciences and disorders. During her undergraduate studies, she worked an ABA therapist where she discovered her love for working with children. For a year after graduation, she worked as a kindergarten teacher supporting students at a school for unique learners. Afterwords, she started her career in research working as a psychometrician for AGREE, the science wing for Autism Speaks, collecting data for the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange – one of the largest repositories of clinic information to support autism research.

At the KiNDD Lab, she works as a psychometrist across all studies performing diagnostic, developmental, and cognitive assessments. Additionally, she provides support to our research coordinators and has represented the KiNDD Lab at multiple conferences.

Carly Hyde

Graduate Student Researcher, UCLA

Carly Hyde is a PhD student in the department of Health Policy and Management at UCLA. She completed her MS in Community Health Sciences at UCLA in 2022. Carly is the study coordinator for two remote studies for families of children with Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). For more information about these studies, please visit www.JETSstudy.org.

Carly is committed to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by neurodevelopmental challenges, and is passionate about ensuring that they have access to effective and comprehensive services throughout their lifespan. Her research interests include identifying barriers to accessing healthcare services, evaluating the effectiveness of interventions, and developing policies that support individuals with neurodevelopmental challenges.

Outside of her academic pursuits, Carly enjoys painting, camping, and seeing live music.

Madison Booth

Junior Data Scientist

Madison graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2021 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in Children’s Studies. In her undergraduate years, Madison worked at WashU’s Neurophotonics Laboratory studying functional selectivity of cortical networks mapped with High-Density Diffuse Optical Tomography (HD-DOT). To gain insight into naturalistic sensory motor and higher order cognitive brain function, she extracted time courses of dynamic movie features including human faces, voices, and emotional valence. Using MATLAB, she was then able to map patient’s cortical responses to these features in real time and evaluate the diversity between neurotypically developing children and those with developmental delay.

At CHLA, Madison runs EEG data analysis for both the Infant Brain Imaging Study (IBIS) and for a clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the drug Sirolimus for epilepsy prevention in infants with TSC (TSC-Steps). Both large multisite studies, Madison enjoys collaborating with clinicians and researchers across the nation to advance our understanding of early functional variability of the developing brain.

Sydney Jacobs

Clinical Research Assistant

Sydney graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a degree in psychobiology and minor in public health. During her time as an undergraduate, she volunteered at the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment working on the JETS and TRAIN studies for kids with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. She also worked as an undergraduate teaching assistant for a program seeking to promote equitable teaching methods and collaboration in STEM classrooms. Before college, she assisted as a volunteer for a non-profit that connected kids with autism to various social opportunities and activities.

At the KiNDD lab, Sydney coordinates the Rett Biomarkers and Vision-15q studies. She also supports other studies in the lab, including the ABC-CT and LISTEN studies. In the future, she hopes to attend graduate school in clinical psychology or speech pathology, specifically focusing on kids with neurogenetic and developmental disabilities.

Outside of research, Sydney enjoys hiking, reading, and attending concerts.

Fatima Menendez

Clinical Research Coordinator

Fatima graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Applied Clinical Psychology in 2019. During her academic years, Fatima volunteered as a research assistant at the Koegel Autism Center, working alongside Dr. Ty Vernon delving into the complexities of neurodevelopmental issues. After graduating, Fatima worked as a behavior technician in Los Angeles, leveraging her knowledge in a practical setting, working with children with autism and other neurological and developmental disorders.

At CHLA, Fatima leads pharmaceutical trials focused on rare diseases in Neurology, contributing to advancements in the field. Currently, she is working on the Dup15q Quindecamine clinical trial in hopes of advancing medical research and finding potential therapies for this amazing population. Fatima aspires to pursue a degree in Clinical Psychology, combining her research background with a hands-on approach to directly impact new treatments for rare neurological diagnoses, with a particular focus on improving outcomes for children facing developmental challenges.

Outside the professional realm, Fatima enjoys hiking, spending time with family, and fostering meaningful connections while working with children.

Monique Vobecky

Clinical Research Coordinator

Monique graduated from Harvard University in 2025 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy. As an undergraduate, she conducted her senior thesis research in the Lipton Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, exploring how Kleefstra Syndrome affects cellular circadian rhythms. Alongside her academic work, she founded and leads a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides athletic and academic support to children across Southern California. Monique also served as the volunteer director for her university’s chapter of a nationwide non-profit, organizing initiatives that brought joy and connection to children receiving medical care.

At the KiNDD Lab, Monique works on the Autism Biomarker Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT) study and the Aligning Research to Impact Autism Initiative. She is passionate about understanding neurodevelopmental disorders and plans to attend medical school where she hopes to combine her interests in pediatrics and neurology.

Outside of research, Monique enjoys running outdoors, reading new books, and traveling to new places.

Former Lab Members:

Andrew Smith
Laura Macias
Lauren Bui
Sahana Nagabhushan Kalburgi, PhD
Maggie Orozco
Madeleine Hare
Brigitte Kime
Katia Cardenas Quintero
Delara Aryan
Joey Yap
Enrique Perez
Melody Li

Clinical Research Coordinator
Clinical Research Coordinator
Clinical Research Coordinator
Postdoctoral Researcher
Clinical Research Coordinator
Clinical Research Coordinator
Clinical Research Assistant
Health Science and Behavioral Research Assistant I
Junior Data Scientist
Student Intern
Research Observer
Data Scientist