Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center

Overview (old)

Founded more than 40 years ago, the Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (RFK IDDRC) has long been at the forefront of research on brain development and function, while simultaneously providing clinical care for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). It is also one of the oldest designated University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Research, Education and Service (UCEDD) and, as such, has intimate links to Einstein’s UCEDD clinical arm - the Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC).

CERC provides clinicians and investigators with the challenge and opportunity of working with large numbers of IDD-related conditions in the genetically diverse and socioeconomically compromised population of the Bronx.

Demonstrating further integration within Einstein’s RFK IDDRC, the UCEDD is also home to the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Program, one of only 38 in the United States, which supports interdisciplinary clinical training for medical and allied health professionals who care for individuals with special healthcare needs.

Highlights

The IDDRC hosted it's 4th Annual Isabelle Rapin Conference on Communication Disorders on Thursday, December 3, 2015. The event was organized by IDDRC NGEN Core Assistant Director, Bernice Morrow and focused on 22q11.2 (DiGeorge Syndrome/VCFS). In addition to outside speakers (Donna McGinn from CHOP, Ann Swillen from the University of Leuven, Carrie Bearden from UCLA and Wendy Kates from SUNY) Einstein IDDRC member Dr. Noboru Hiroi discussed his work with mouse models and copy number variation in 22q112 as they relate to autism and schizophrenia.

Date: Thursday, December 3rd, 2015
Time: 8:30 to 3:00
Location: Price Center’s LeFrak Auditorium.

Guest speakers:
Donna McDonald-McGinn (CHOP)
Ann Swillen (University of Leuven)
Carrie Bearden (UCLA)
Wendy Kates (SUNY)

Translating Discovery into Treatment

Watch Video

more highlights

Research Round-Up

Elective Service — Dr. Susan Band Horwitz was elected to serve as one of the members of the AACR Nominating Committee for the 2012 to 2014 term. Founded in 1907, the AACR (American Association for Cancer Research), is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. Its membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. Dr. Horwitz is distinguished university professor and co-chair of molecular pharmacology at Einstein, as well as associate director for therapeutics for the Albert Einstein Cancer Center and the Rose C. Falkenstein Professor of Cancer Research. She also is an AACR past president and currently serves as a member on the Council of Scientific Advisors.

Good Reading — Dr. U. Thomas Meier was awarded a $1.2 million grant over four years by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study how cells assemble small nucleolar RNA-protein complexes that function in the modification of ribosomal and other RNAs, thereby fine-tuning protein synthesis and pre-messenger RNA processing. Dr. Meier’s laboratory will use novel approaches to shed light on these basic cellular processes, thus providing the foundation for understanding what goes wrong in certain genetic diseases and cancers. Dr. Meier is professor of anatomy and structural biology.

read more

A Message From the Director

Steven U. Walkley, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Most intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly those with genetic causes, not only predominantly affect children but are also rare—as defined by the Rare Disease Act of 2002, they affect about 1 in 1,500 people. There are estimated to be almost 7,000 rare diseases, most of which are in fact ultra-rare, read more...

Watch video on Dr. Walkley's rare disease research.

In the Media

The Cerebellum's Secrets: A Profile of Kamran Khodakhah

Kamran Khodakhah, Ph.D., who designed his own laboratory tools to study rat brains as a Ph.D. student, is profiled in a feature on his life and body of research, including recent key findings about the cerebellum’s role in addiction and behavior. Dr. Khodakhah is professor and chair of the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein.

(Saturday, Oct 05, 2019)

Parents’ Emotional Trauma May Change Their Children’s Biology. Studies in Mice Show How

John Greally, D.Med., Ph.D., comments on recent studies that claim trauma can be passed down to future generations through epigenetic changes. Dr. Greally is director of the Center for Epigenomics and professor and chief of computational genetics.

(Friday, Jul 19, 2019)

coverage on other stories