Elizabeth R. Sowell-Crowell

Elizabeth R. Sowell-Crowell, PhD, is a Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Psychology at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California (USC), and a researcher at The Saban Research Institute. Her work focuses on understanding brain development in children and adolescents, particularly in populations affected by neurodevelopmental disorders such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and autism. She investigates how structural and functional brain changes correlate with behavioral and cognitive outcomes, aiming to identify intervention strategies for abnormal developmental patterns.

Her research integrates advanced neuroimaging techniques (e.g., MRI, fMRI) to study environmental and socioeconomic factors impacting brain health, including exposure to pollutants like lead and fine particulate matter. She also explores the impact of HIV on neurodevelopment in youth and examines sex differences in brain maturation linked to puberty and hormonal changes.

Key contributions include longitudinal studies on cortical and subcortical development, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, and the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics (PING) repository. Her work emphasizes translational research to bridge biological findings with clinical and educational interventions.