California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine Scalable Measurement and Clinical Deployment of Mitochondrial Biomarkers of Toxic Stress (2021-2024)

Dr. Pat Levitt is the Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President and Director, The Saban Research Institute, Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, W.M. Keck Provost Professor in Neurogenetics at USC.

His research program includes basic studies that probe the ways in which circuitries that controls learning, emotional and social behavior develop, using advanced technologies in genetics, cell biology and behavior. Clinical research investigates children with autism spectrum disorder who have co-occurring gastrointestinal and other conditions. Studies of infant resilience to adversity focus on the brain-based and metabolic changes that may have short and long-term impacts on mental and physical health. He has published over 275 scientific papers.

Dr. Levitt received his B.A. in Biology at the University of Chicago, a Ph.D. in Neuroscience at University of California, San Diego and a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University.

Xiaowu Gai, PhD serves as the Director of Bioinformatics in the Center for Personalized Medicine in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). He is a Professor of Clinical Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Gai's research interests are aimed at understanding human genetic variation at the molecular genetic level and how it is related to human diseases, using bioinformatics and genomics methodologies. Prior to joining CHLA, Dr. Gai was the Director of Bioinformatics and Associate Director of the Ocular Genomics Institute in the Department of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston.

Dr. Gai received his MS in Genetics from the Institute of Genetics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and his PhD in Genetics at Iowa State University.

Alexander R. Judkins, MD, FCAP, FRCP (Edin), is Pathologist-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), and Professor (Clinical Scholar) and Vice Chair of Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (KSOM). Dr. Judkins is internationally recognized as an expert in the diagnosis of pediatric brain tumors and for his development of pediatric brain tumor biomarkers. He also leads CHLA’s precision medicine initiative as the Executive Director of the Center for Personalized Medicine (CPM). He received a bachelor’s degree (1991) from State University of New York Geneseo and his medical degree (1996) from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He completed his post-graduate medical training at the University of Pennsylvania where he was a faculty member in the Perelman School of Medicine and served as Chief of Neuropathology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) before joining CHLA in 2010. Dr. Judkins is board certified in anatomic pathology, neuropathology, and forensic pathology.

Dr. Jenny Kingsley, MD, MA is an attending physician and Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. She serves in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and as faculty in the Center for Bioethics. She obtained her MD at the University of Washington Medical School, completed her residency in pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University, and completed fellowships in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Clinical Bioethics at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Additionally, she obtained an MA in Bioethics and Medical Humanities at the University of Washington.

Suzanne Roberts, MD is an attending physician and clinical associate professor of pediatrics (Clinician Educator) at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Her clinical interests include children with special health care needs, spina bifida, and children in foster care. Dr. Roberts is interested in the role of the pediatrician in mitigating toxic stress response from early life adversity.

Dr. Roberts obtained an MD at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, an internship in pediatrics at Harbor UCLA Medical Center, and chief residency in pediatrics at Harbor UCLA Medical Center.

Sonya Negriff, PhD is a research scientist in the Division of Behavioral Research, Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. She trained as a developmental psychologist with expertise in the effects of child maltreatment on physical and mental health. Dr. Negriff uses a biopsychosocial approach to examine the pathways linking child maltreatment to negative outcomes. Dr. Negriff’s research has focused on analyzing the biological (e.g., stress reactivity, pubertal timing, epigenetics, neuroimaging) and social (e.g., social support, social media use) mechanisms that increase vulnerability to mental health problems for children and adolescents with early trauma experiences.

Dr. Negriff received an MA and PhD in Developmental Psychology at the University of Southern California and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Marian Williams, PhD is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Keck School of Medicine, the Program Area Lead for the Early Childhood Mental Health Program at Children's Hospital Los Angeles UCEDD (University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities), the Autism Training Coordinator for the LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) program, and Director for the Stein Tikun Olam Infant-Family Mental Health Program.