Nancy Raitano Lee

I am a clinical psychologist who specializes in developmental neuropsychology. At Drexel, I teach in the undergraduate and graduate programs. I joined the faculty in 2014 after doing a clinical fellowship focused on developmental disorders and a research fellowship focused on structural neuroimaging. I am particularly passionate about training the next generation of psychological scientists who are committed to supporting the well-being of individuals with developmental disorders through the provision of high quality clinical care and the completion of rigorous research. My students have the opportunity to work closely with me on several grant-funded research projects in the LADDER (Learning And Developmental Disabilities Educational Neuropsychology Research) Lab. The mission of the lab is to increase knowledge about the causes and correlates of the complex learning difficulties associated with different developmental disorders, such as Down syndrome and autism spectrum disorder. I am particularly interested in functional life skills such as communication and reading abilities as well as work readiness skills in these groups. My team’s multidisciplinary work has been funded by private and government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. We currently have two active projects that are focused on executive function skills or higher level thinking skills in children and young adults with Down syndrome. These projects are examining relations between executive function and independent living skills (like activities of daily living and employment). They are also looking at the neural correlates of executive function using a portable neuroimaging technology called functional near infrared spectroscopy or fNIRS for short. In addition to this work on Down syndrome, I collaborate with colleagues at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute and other universities on studies of health and real world outcomes among autistic adults.