Carolina Institute for Neurodevelopmental Disorders

NEW! Carolina Institute for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CIND)

We are recruiting for a director of the newly created Carolina Institute for Neurodevelopmental Disorders. This new leadership role will bring together several current programs (CIDD, TEACCH and the Program on Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry) under one umbrella to advance the excellent work happening in neurodevelopmental disorders at UNC. Descriptions of the programs that will be part of the newly created CIND are below:

The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) was established in 2007 to provide the citizens of North Carolina with world class services, research, and training in developmental disabilities. The CIDD is one of a small number of centers in the U.S. that brings together within the same center all three federally-funded programs of national significance in developmental disabilities – the NC University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), the NC Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders Program LEND) Program, and an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC). The NICHD-funded IDDRC provides core support to over 50 funded basic and clinical investigators from across ~ 20 University departments, promoting collaborative, translational studies relevant to the pathogenesis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. The CIDD partners with the UNC Neuroscience Center in maintaining a longstanding NIH T32 Post-doctoral Research training program. The NC UCEDD supports interdisciplinary clinical services across a range of common and rare neurodevelopmental disorders and has input into state policy and programmatic decisions through our position on the NC Developmental Disabilities Council. The NC LEND Program provides stipends to support leadership training in neurodevelopmental disorders to clinicians and clinical trainees, at all career levels and disciplines, as well as self-advocates and family members. Together, these 3 federally funded programs provide a core framework for the important clinical services, training and research conducted at the CIDD.

Established in 1972, the University of North Carolina TEACCH Autism Program has an active clinical, teaching, and research program. TEACCH operates seven community regional clinics across the state of North Carolina serving autistic individuals across the lifespan. TEACCH clinics provide an array of clinical services including diagnostic evaluations, psychotherapy, speech language therapy, occupational therapy and parent support groups. Additional clinical service programs include the Carolina Living and Learning Center, a residential/vocational training facility for autistic adults, an Employment Services program providing supports to adults on the spectrum, and a community-college based transition to adulthood program. TEACCH has an international training program that provides consultation for educators and clinicians from a variety of disciplines. In 2023, professional training programs were provided to professionals across 44 states and 53 countries. In keeping with its mission to create and disseminate community-based services to enhance the quality of life for autistic individuals and their families, research activities at TEACCH focus on community-based services. Current research funding exceeds $20 million and includes 5 community-based clinical trials focused on transition to adulthood and mental and physical health for autistic adolescents and adults, and longitudinal research on aging with autism. TEACCH has 48 full and part-time faculty, 150+ staff and provides training opportunities in both research and clinical activities for interns, postdoctoral fellows, and other graduate and undergraduate students from students at universities across the state. All TEACCH programs are coordinated through a central administration and research unit in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Program on Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry specializes in high-quality psychiatric assessment and treatment of people with developmental disabilities and other neuropsychiatric concerns. This program has both outpatient and inpatient treatment settings and has a robust training component in this patient population.