Dr. Bennett’s research interests include screening for medical and behavioral co-morbidities in individuals with developmental disabilities, with specific interest in improving screening and outcome measures for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She serves as an autism specialist, clinician, and investigator on ASD-related research and provides diagnostic evaluations and clinical care to individuals with ASD and Fragile X.

Dr. Bennett’s early publications stemmed from research completed during her fellowship training. The study tested the reliability and validity of a teacher-completed rating scale for children being evaluated for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. As a trainee, Dr. Bennett served as mentored PI on the study and participated in all aspects of protocol development, data collection, and data analysis.

After training, Dr. Bennett’s work emphasized measurement of co-morbidities associated with ASD, particularly anxiety and sleep. She served as study physician, as well as co-investigator on the research protocol, and participated as a clinical expert for the consensus papers.

Dr. Bennett is a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician and clinical chair of the Autism Integrated Care Shared Governance Committee at CHOP. She is also the site director of the Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (AS-ATN) Philadelphia site and co-director of the Elwyn-CHOP Fragile X Clinic.

BS, Bridgewater College (Biology), 1997

Shepherd College (Pre-Medical), 1998

MD, Marshall University, 2002

Residency, A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children (Pediatrics)

Fellowship, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics)

Fellowship, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities)

MPH, University of Pennsylvania (Public Health), 2009

Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician

Clinical Chair, Autism Integrated Care Shared Governance Committee, CHOP

Site Director, Autism Speaks Autism Treatment Network (AS-ATN) Philadelphia site

Co-Director, Elwyn-CHOP Fragile X Clinic

American Academy of Pediatrics, 2002-

Society for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, 2005-

Academic Pediatric Association New Century Scholars Program, Junior Mentor, 2008-2009

International Society for Autism Research, 2010-

Fragile X Expert Panel, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2015-

Testing the Impact of Early Screening on Long-Term Outcomes in ASD
NIMH
2020-2022
This multisite collaborative will study the long-term outcomes of children who were screened and diagnosed with ASD early compared to a community sample who had delayed diagnosis of ASD
PI: Broder-Fingert

A Longitudinal Brain and Behavior Study of Autism from Infancy through School Age
NICHD<
2017-2022
This is a multisite collaboration aimed at studying brain, using MRI, and behavioral development in a longitudinal cohort of school-age children who were first diagnosed with ASD during the first three years of life.
PI: Piven

MRI-based Presymptomatic Prediction of ASD
NIMH
2019-2024<
This is a multisite collaboration aimed at studying the pres-symptomatic biomarkers in young children at-risk for autism from 6 months to 2 years.
PI: Pruett

Autism Learning Health Network Leadership Center
Autism Speaks
2021-2023
The major goal of this project is to create a network of hospital systems dedicated to providing comprehensive, coordinated care to children with ASD and their families.
Specific aims: Participation in a national data registry and institutional and network-wide quality improvement projects aimed at improving medical services to children with ASD.
PI: Bennett

ALHN PATH to Discover 2021
Autism Speaks
2021-2022<
A main goal of this project is to build a discovery platform to understand the biology of ASD subtypes, as well as to have an ecosystem where biological discoveries can be turned into specific information (including potential treatments) to guide clinical management and, ultimately, to improve the health of those affected by ASD.
PI: Hartley

A Comparison of Two Brief Suicide Prevention Interventions Tailored for Youth on the Autism Spectrum
PCORI
2021-2026
The main goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a suicide prevention intervention to reduce suicidal behaviors in youth with autism spectrum disorder and suicidal ideation.
PI: Maddox & Jager-Hyman

A Phase II Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, 12-week Treatment, 3-Arm, Parallel-Group, Placebo-Controlled Study to Investigate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of R0701773 in Participants aged 15-45 years with Autism Spectrum Disorder
F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd.
2020-2022
The objectives of this Phase 2 proof-of-concept study (BP41316) are to investigate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of RO7017773 in adolescents and adults (15-45 years of age) with autism spectrum disorder, with a target on the core symptoms of ASD of social communication deficits and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) and interests.
PI: Yerys

Effects of AFQ056 on Language Learning in Young Children with Fragile X Syndrome
NICHD & NINDS
2019-2023<
The main goal of this study is to determine whether AFQ056 can improve language learning in 100 very young (age 3-6 years) children with FXS during participation in an intensive language learning intervention.
PI: Berry-Kravis

FDA Validation of a Salivary miRNA Diagnostic Test for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Speaks
2021-2022
The main goal of this study is to validate a salivary miRNA diagnostic test in young children with suspected autism spectrum disorder vs developmental delay.
PI: Middleton

Efficacy of Pharmacologic Management of ADHD in Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder
PCORI
2022-2027
The main goal of this study is to determine the relative effectiveness of the most commonly prescribed FDA approved medications for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents with ASD.
PI: Coury and Kuhlthau