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Shriver Center Leadership

Jean A. Frazier, MD Executive Director

In addition to her role as Executive Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, Dr. Jean Frazier holds the Robert M. and Shirley S. Siff Chair in Autism and is a tenured Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She is an affiliated faculty member of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in both the Neuroscience Program and in Clinical and Population Health Research.  As Co-Director of the Child and Adolescent Neurodevelopment Initiative (CANDI), Dr. Frazier directs a broad research program that addresses a variety of scientific problems relevant to advancing the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and Fragile X syndrome. In addition, her team is actively involved in an ongoing longitudinal research project that assesses the predictors of long term neurodevelopmental and health outcomes in individuals who were born extremely preterm.   Dr. Frazier graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and is board certified in Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Her clinical interests include Autism spectrum disorders, Fragile X Syndrome, neurodevelopmental outcomes in individuals born extremely preterm, neuroimaging and psychopharmacology.   With expertise in Child Psychopharmacology, Autism, and Child Psychiatry, Dr. Frazier has published 159 peer-reviewed journal articles and 27 book chapters. In addition, she has received numerous honors and awards, including:  

  • Distinguished Fellow, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2016)
  • Women in Science and Health Achievement Award, UMMS (2016)
  • Fellow, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (2015)
  • Steven Banks Award for Research Mentoring, UMMS Department of Psychiatry (2013)
  • Top Doctors, U. S. News & World Report (2012-2016)
  • Best Doctors in America (2010-2020)
  • New England Educational Institute’s Outstanding Educator Award for Mental Health Education (2006)
  • Distinguished Fellow, American Psychiatric Association (2006)
  • Massachusetts Psychiatric Society-Outstanding Psychiatrist Award for Research (2003)
  • National Alliance For The Mentally Ill- Annual Exemplary Psychiatrist Award (2002)

Carol Curtin, PhD, LICSW Associate Director

Dr. Carol Curtin serves as the Associate Director of the UMMS Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center.  She is also the Director of the Shriver Center’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) programs. She is also Co-Director of the MCHB-funded Healthy Weight Research Network. She maintains faculty appointments in the UMMS Departments of Family Medicine & Community Health, Psychiatry, and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, in the Department of Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine, and at the Moakley Center for Public Management at Suffolk University.   Dr. Curtin has over 30 years of experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities and behavioral health/psychiatric disorders and their families in a variety of settings and using a variety of clinical modalities. She has extensive management and leadership experience, having directed programs in clinical, academic, and research settings. Her research is focused on health promotion with an emphasis on identifying unique modifiable risk factors for obesity in populations of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities and devising targeted and tailored interventions to meet their needs. She has served as a Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on private and federally-funded projects that have included epidemiological studies on the prevalence of obesity in special populations, observational studies on physical activity, dietary patterns, and/or obesity in children with varied developmental disabilities, and weight loss and physical activity interventions for adolescents with ID and autism.  

 

Sarabeth Broder-Fingert, MD, MPH Deputy Director

October 11, 2023- Worcester, MA- UMass Chan Portrait Day. Sarabeth Brooder-Fingert, MD Pediatrics. Photo by Faith Ninivaggi

Dr. Broder-Fingert is a professor of pediatrics and implementation scientist who studies early diagnosis and treatment for autistic children as well as children with other developmental, behavioral, and/or mental health disorders. She is Vice Chair for Clinical Research in Pediatrics and Deputy Director at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Chan Medical School. She is PI or Co-I on multiple NIH-funded awards focused on testing and/or evaluating the implementation of autism interventions. She is also an active mentor, serving as mentor on multiple NIH-career development awards, and has mentored over 20 pre- and post-doctoral trainees. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and serves as an editor for the journal Autism.