In the Developmental Psychopathology Lab at University of Houston our research focus is on the early identification of psychiatric disorders. One line of research focuses on social-cognitive, affective, and reward processing as early markers of psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents. A second line of research focuses on the development of diagnostic measurement tools to facilitate the early identification and treatment of psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents. We use a variety of methods in our research, including behavioral experiments, functional neuroimaging and survey methods. Research typically focuses on childhood disorders associated with deficits in interpersonal functioning (conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, depression, emerging borderline personality disorder, emerging psychopathic traits) or reward processing (problem gambling, depression).

The lab is run by Dr. Carla Sharp and has been funded by the NIMH, the NIH Centers for AIDS Research, NARSAD, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, and the Child and Family Program of the Menninger Clinic. The primary outcome of the research is to identify early markers of disorders in youth and to refine and further develop the practice of assessment and diagnosis of childhood psychopathology thereby enabling early identification and treatment of youngsters.

Lab News

• June 2013: Tessa has been awarded the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to conduct research on ADHD and self-injury. Congrats!
• May 2013: The DP lab was awarded a grant from the American Psychoanalytic Association for our oxtytocin, attachment, and social cognition study!
• April 2013: Congratulations to Karen on her acceptance to the Experimental Psychology Master’s program at Western Washington University!
• April 2013: Congratulations to Andrew on his acceptance to the University of South Carolina’s Ph.D. program in Clinical & Community Psychology!
• April 2013: Dr. Sharp received The Division of Research Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship from the University of Houston – an award given university wide to only 2 faculty members at each rank.
• April 2013: Claire Hatkevich, new incoming student, received a CLASS first year award from the University of Houston.
• April 2013: Charles Jardin, new incoming student, received a Presidential Graduate Fellowship from the University of Houston.
• March 2013: Carolyn Ha received an F31 from the NIMH for her doctoral research. Well done!
• December 2012: Amanda Venta has been awarded the APA/APF Harry and Miriam Levinson Scholorship for her dissertation! Congratulations on this marvelous achievement!
• November 2012: Well done on your poster presentations at ABCT 2012, Tyson and Amanda!
• September 2012: Congrats, Roya, on your poster acceptance for the upcoming UH Undergraduate Research Day!
• August 2012: The lab wecomes Allison Kalpakci and Will Mellick. We are happy to have you! We also welcome new lab manager, Ameera Ali, and all our new undergraduate RAs.
• July 2012: The special issue in Biological Psychiatry on the use of Neuroeconomic games to study psychopathology was published. PDF
• July 2012: Dr. Sharp’s paper in Current Directions in Psychological Science on the use of Neuroeconomic games to study social decision making in externalizing disorders was published
• July 2012: Carolyn Ha and Amanda Venta have been selected to attend the Workshop on the Biology of Social Cognition in Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory in New York.
• June 2012: Announcing our new Assistant Lab Director: Amanda Venta! Congrats, Amanda!!
• May 2012: Congratulations to the graduating class of 2012: Robert Seals and Heather Pane!!
• May 2012: Good job on your poster acceptances to ABCT!! Tyson, Amanda, Carolyn, Liz, Andrew, and Radhika!
• May 2012: Congratulations, Amanda, on your recent 1st-authored paper in Psychological Assessment!