Amy Conrad, PhD
Introduction
Amy L. Conrad, PhD is a clinical psychologist and her research expertise is in pediatric neuropsychology. For the past 15 years, she has worked on various NIH grants which combine both neuropsychological assessment and neuroimaging methods in children ranging from infancy through young adulthood. She recently completed a K23 training grant (NIDCR) that used neuroimaging (structural and functional) to evaluate brain development in children with oral clefts, with a focus on language and reading disorders. She continues to develop projects to evaluate brain structure and function across the lifespan in children with cleft and has been involved in ongoing multi-center work evaluating the impact of treatment on psychosocial outcomes in children with oral clefts since 2012 (the Americleft Project). Dr. Conrad is co-PI on a multi-center project evaluating school-age outcomes in children born prematurely and collaborates on projects related to Huntington's disease, kidney disease, and hemophilia.
Current Positions
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics - Psychology
Education
- BA in Psychology, Central College, Pella, Iowa, United States
- PhD in Counseling Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States
- MS in Translational Biomedicine, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States
- Internship in Pediatric Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, United States
- Postdoctoral Fellow in Pediatric Psychology, University of Iowa, Center for Disabilities and Development, Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Center, Program and Institute Affiliations
Research Interests
- Evaluation of Neuropsychological Development and Outcome in Craniofacial Diagnoses
- Structural and Functional Imaging of Neuropsychological
Licenses & Certifications
- Health Service Provider in Psychology (Iowa), Iowa, United States
- Psychologist, Iowa
Selected Publications
- Tereshchenko A, van der Plas E, Mathews KD, Epping E, Conrad AL, Langbehn DR, Nopoulos P. Developmental Trajectory of Height, Weight, and BMI in Children and Adolescents at Risk for Huntington's Disease: Effect of mHTT on Growth. J Huntingtons Dis. 2020;9(3):245-251. doi: 10.3233/JHD-200407.PMID: 32894247
- Kamalumpundi V, Gonzalez Bravo C, Andalon A, Conrad AL, Goins-Fernandez J. Reassessing the Use of Race in Clinical Algorithms: An Interactive, Case-Based Session for Medical Students Using eGFR. MedEdPORTAL. 2024 Jun 21;20:11412. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11412. eCollection 2024.PMID: 38957523
- Kuhlmann EH, Conrad AL. Word Reading in Boys With Isolated Oral Clefts: Comparison to Unaffected Average and Dyslexic Readers Using the Dual-Route Model. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2020 Mar;57(3):310-320. doi: 10.1177/1055665619867015. Epub 2019 Aug 1.PMID: 31370691
- Heppner CE, Crerand CE, Crilly Bellucci C, Sheikh F, Woodard S, Albert M, Conrad AL, Kapp-Simon KA. A Multisite Study Investigating Child and Parent Proxy Reported Quality of Life in Children With Cleft Lip and/or Palate. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2023 Nov;60(11):1474-1483. doi: 10.1177/10556656221105766. Epub 2022 Jun 8.PMID: 35675171
- Conrad AL, Crilly Bellucci C, Heppner CE, Albert M, Crerand CE, Woodard S, Sheikh F, Kapp-Simon KA. Screening for Academic Risk Among Students With Cleft Lip and/or Palate: Patterns of Risk and Qualities of Effective Tools. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2024 Jan;61(1):68-78. doi: 10.1177/10556656221116008. Epub 2022 Jul 26.PMID: 35892129
- Conrad AL, Wermke K, Eisenmann M, Kuhlmann E, Benavides A, Koscik T, Magnotta V. Preliminary evaluation of pre-speech and neurodevelopmental measures in 7-11-week-old infants with isolated oral clefts.Pediatr Res. 2021 Jan;89(1):85-90. doi: 10.1038/s41390-020-0887-5. Epub 2020 Apr 12.PMID: 32279071
- Conrad AL, Kuhlmann E, van der Plas E, Axelson E. Brain structure and neural activity related to reading in boys with isolated oral clefts. Child Neuropsychol. 2021 Jul;27(5):621-640. doi: 10.1080/09297049.2021.1879765. Epub 2021 Feb 9.PMID: 33557685
- Conrad AL, Albert M, Crerand CE, Crilly Bellucci C, Heppner CE, Sheikh F, Woodard S, Kapp-Simon KA. Retrospective Evaluation of Number of Surgeries and Parent Ratings of Academic and Behavioral Functioning Among Children With Isolated Oral Clefts. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2021 Oct;58(10):1294-1303. doi: 10.1177/1055665620982807. Epub 2020 Dec 30.PMID: 3338022
- Benavides A, Conrad AL, Brumbaugh JE, Magnotta V, Bell EF, Nopoulos P. Long-term outcome of brain structure in female preterm infants: possible associations of liberal versus restrictive red blood cell transfusions. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2021 Oct;34(20):3292-3299. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2019.1683157. Epub 2019 Nov 13.PMID: 31722594
- Crerand CE, Conrad AL, Bellucci CC, Albert M, Heppner CE, Sheikh F, Woodard S, Udaipuria S, Kapp-Simon KA. Psychosocial Outcomes in Children with Cleft Lip and/or Palate: Associations of Demographic, Cleft Morphologic, and Treatment-Related Variables. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2024 Nov;61(11):1784-1802. doi: 10.1177/10556656231181581. Epub 2023 Jun 22.PMID: 37350106