The Autism Interest Group (AIG) at the University of Oregon was founded in 2007 by Professor Phil Washbourne. In the club’s early years, AIG focused on giving scientific talks that were open to the public. Previous talks highlighted research in human cognition, research in human genomics, parents sharing their personal experiences, and more.
The current goal of AIG is to increase outreach efforts throughout the University of Oregon and the broader Eugene area. Our first step is to make AIG more accessible to students, researchers, parents, and anyone interested in autism spectrum disorders. To this end, we have launched a new Facebook page (link) and a newly revamped website, offer free autism-related movie screenings, and continue to offer talks featuring autism experts and local community members. Our hope is to build stronger bonds between the University of Oregon and the local autism community, bridge the gap between scientific research in biology, psychology, and education, and broadly disseminate current findings across students, faculty, and community members.
OFFICERS
Katie Jan
kowski (President)
Kathryn (Katie) Jankowski is a doctoral candidate in Psychology at the University of Oregon and a researcher in the UO Developmental Social Neuroscience lab. Katie first became interested in autism as an undergraduate at the University of Virginia when she volunteered at the Virginia Institute of Autism. After graduating, she worked at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Washington, DC and volunteered in several autism social skills groups. Currently, Katie is working on her dissertation to study how changes in brain activity and hormone production impact social cognition in adolescents with autism. Katie has volunteered with several local autism organizations since moving to Oregon, including Early Childhood CARES, Bridgeway House, and Sibshops. For fun, Katie likes to hike, cook, do Zumba, and spend time with her husband, Chris, and her cat, Nezumi.
Sarah Hansen (Vice President)
Sarah Hansen is a doctoral candidate in Special Education/ Early Intervention at the University of Oregon. Sarah first became interested in ASD when she worked as a volunteer in high school. Sarah has since got her Bachelors of Science in Psychology at UC Davis where she focused on research on ASD, and her masters at Mills College in Oakland. Sarah’s research focuses on early social communication skills for young children with developmental disabilities. She recently completed a study on joint attention (shared and alternating attention on an object or event between two people) that trained parents to intervene on response to joint attention behaviors in four children with autism. For her dissertation, Sarah will be expanding this study to the preschool classroom.
Rebecca Frantz (Community Engagement Coordinator)
Rebecca Frantz is a doctoral student in the Early Intervention/Special Education Program at the University of Oregon. Prior to coming to UO, she worked with children with ASD and their families as a behavior interventionist and got her Masters degree in Psychology in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Rebecca’s research focuses on early social skills for young children with developmental disabilities and parent-child interactions. She is currently working on a pilot study on a father-mediated intervention to teach symbolic plays skills to preschool children with ASD.
Jaibir Pannu (Finance Chair)
Jaibir Pannu is a undergraduate student working on finishing up his Biology Degree, with an emphasis on Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology at the University of Oregon. He is currently applying to Medical School, were he hopes to focus on clinical research relating to developmental disorders. With a professional goal of becoming a primary care physician, Jaibir Pannu feels it is important to get early exposure to children with Autism, as he hopes to work with many of them in the future.
Past officers
Michael Kyweriga– Post-doctoral research scientist at University of Lethbridge
UO AIG would also like to thank Chris Fannon for designing our logo for us. Thanks Chris!