About

Dr. Piven is a child/adolescent and adult psychiatrist specializing in the clinical care of individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. He is the Director of the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities at UNC, a comprehensive program of services, research, and training in neurodevelopmental disorders. He has been continually funded to conduct research since starting his academic career. His research has emphasized interdisciplinary collaborations in imaging (MRI/DTI), behavioral-family, and molecular genetics (linkage and association) studies aimed at elucidating the pathogenesis of autistic syndromes. He has been the principal investigator of several large-scale research centers on autism — including an NIH STAART Center and four cycles of NIH ACE Network studies; as well as an NICHD-funded P50 Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (or IDDRC) and a T32 post-doctoral research training program. He is the author of over 250 peer-reviewed publications on neurodevelopmental disabilities. He is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (Springer), the aim of which is to promote interdisciplinary research on the pathogenesis of a range of neurodevelopment disorders.