معرفی
Diana Robins, PhD is a Professor and Director of the AJ Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University, with secondary appointments in the Department of Community Health & Prevention within the Dornsife School of Public Health and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. She founded the Research Program in Early Detection and Intervention for autism at the Institute in 2014, establishing Drexel as a leader in public health approaches to autism research. Her leadership extends to mentoring students from diverse disciplines including public health, psychology, and medicine who work collaboratively on autism-related research initiatives.
Dr. Robins received her educational training through a rigorous academic pathway: BA in Psychology and Neuroscience from Oberlin College (1996), MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Connecticut (1999), and PhD in Clinical Psychology with Concentration in Clinical Neuropsychology from the University of Connecticut (2002). Her postdoctoral development included an APA-approved internship at the University of Florida Health Sciences Center followed by a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine Child Study Center. Before joining Drexel, she spent a decade on the faculty at Georgia State University with joint appointments in the Department of Psychology and the Neuroscience Institute.
Her research program centers on autism early detection, particularly through the development and validation of screening tools. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), which she developed, has become a globally recognized screening instrument with the original paper cited over 2,400 times. Her work on the M-CHAT-R/F revision demonstrated that children could be diagnosed approximately two years earlier than the national median, significantly improving access to early intervention. Current research examines how early detection strategies in primary care settings impact long-term outcomes for autistic children, representing a public health approach to improving autism services.
Analysis of Dr. Robins' recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on refining autism screening methodologies across diverse populations, examining sex differences in symptom presentation, validating screening tools in multiple languages and cultural contexts, and implementing tiered diagnostic approaches to address systemic barriers to diagnosis. Her work increasingly focuses on translating research into community practice, with attention to implementation science, healthcare access disparities, and the integration of screening into routine primary care.
- Research funded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Research funded by Autism Speaks
- Research funded by National Institute of Mental Health
- Treasurer, Board of Directors of the International Society for Autism Research
- Panel member, Child Psychology and Developmental Disorders study section at NIH
Dr. Robins has built a productive research program that draws students and professionals from multiple disciplines to work on public health approaches to autism. Her lab has conducted numerous validation studies of the M-CHAT across different cultural contexts and populations, including work in Northern Mexico to build autism research capacity. Current grants focus on examining how primary care implementation of autism screening affects diagnostic pathways and outcomes, with particular attention to disparities in access and diagnosis. Her team collaborates with community providers to develop practical solutions for identifying autism earlier in diverse clinical settings.
The Early Detection and Intervention research program at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute operates as an interdisciplinary hub where public health researchers, psychologists, and medical professionals collaborate on innovative approaches to improving early autism detection. The team works closely with community pediatric practices to implement and refine screening protocols, while also conducting rigorous validation studies of assessment tools. This collaborative model enables the translation of research findings into practical clinical applications that can be implemented in real-world settings.
