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The Autism Research Team

Lisa Croen, PhD

Senior Research Scientist
Director, Autism Research Program
Lisa Croen

Lisa Croen, PhD, who joined the DOR as a perinatal epidemiologist in 2000, is a senior research scientist at the Division of Research (DOR), Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and the director of the Kaiser Permanente Autism Research Program. Her research interests include the epidemiology of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, environmental exposures and gene/environment interaction, and adverse perinatal outcomes. Currently, Dr. Croen is the site principal investigator on two large federally funded autism studies – the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) and the Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation Study (EARLI). She is also co-investigator on the California Autism Twins Study (CATS) and, in collaboration with clinical colleagues, directs the Kaiser Permanente site of the Autism Treatment Network and Autism Intervention Research Program. Dr. Croen received her master’s degree in public health and her doctorate in epidemiology, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to coming to the DOR, she was an epidemiologist at the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program at the California Department of Health Services.

Selected Peer-reviewed Publications

  • Nelson KB, Grether JK, Croen LA, Dambrosia JM, Dickens BF, Jelliffe LL, et al. Neuropeptides and neurotrophins in neonatal blood of children with autism or mental retardation. Ann Neurol 2001: 49:597-606.
  • Croen LA, Grether JK, Selvin S. The epidemiology of mental retardation of unknown cause. Pediatrics 2001; 107(6):E86 URL:  http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/107/6/e86.
  • Croen LA, Grether JK, Selvin S. Descriptive epidemiology of autism in a California population: who is at risk? J Autism Dev Disord 2002;32:217-224.
  • Croen LA, Grether JK, Hoogstrate J, Selvin S. The changing prevalence of autism in California. J Autism Dev Disord 2002;32:207-215.
  • Hallmayer J, Glasson EJ, Bower C, Petterson B, Croen L, Grether J, Risch N. On the twin risk in autism.  Am J Hum Genet 2002;71(4):941-946.
  • Lawler CP, Croen LA, Grether JK, Van de Water J.  Identifying environmental contributions to autism: provocative clues and false leads.  Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews 2004;10(4):292-302.
  • Croen LA, Grether JK, Yoshida CK, Odouli R, Van de Water J.  Maternal autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies and childhood autism spectrum disorders.  Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med.  2005;159:151-7.
  • Croen LA, Yoshida CK, Odouli R, Newman TB.  Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and risk of autism spectrum disorders.  Pediatr 2005;115(2):e135-8.
  • Wier ML, Yoshida CK, Odouli R, Grether JK, Croen LA.  Congenital anomalies associated with autism spectrum disorders.  Dev Med Child Neurol 2006;48:500-507.
  • Hertz-Picciotto I, Croen LA, Hansen R, Jones CR, Van de Water J, Pessah IN.  The CHARGE Study: An Epidemiologic Investigation of Genetic and Environmental Factors Contributing to Autism.  Environmental Health Perspectives 2006;114(7):1119-25.
  • Croen LA, Najjar D, Ray GT, Lotspeich L, Bernal P.  A comparison of healthcare utilization and cost of children with and without autism spectrum disorders in a large HMO. Pediatrics 2006 Oct;118(4):e1203-11.
  • Windham GC, Zhang L, Gunier R, Croen LA, Grether JK.  Autism spectrum disorders in relation to distribution of hazardous air pollutants in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Environmental Health Perspectives 2006 Sep;114(9):1438-44.
  • Ray GT, Levine P, Croen LA, Bokhari FAS, Hu T-W, Habel LA.  Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in children: excess costs before and after initial diagnosis and treatment cost differences by ethnicity.  Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006 Oct;160(10):1063-9.
  • Rosen N, Yoshida CK, Croen LA.  Infection in the first two years of life and autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics 2007;119:e61-69.
  • Newschaffer CN, Croen LA, Daniels J et al.  The epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders.  Ann Reviews Public Health 2007 Apr 21;28:235-258.
  • Ashwood P, Kwong C, Hansen R, Hertz-Picciotto I, Croen L, Krakowiak P, Walker W, Pessah IN, Van de Water J.  Brief report: Plasma leptin levels are elevated in autism: association with early onset phenotype?  Journal Autism and Developmental Disorders 2007 Mar 9; [Epub ahead of print]
  • Croen LA, Najjar DV, Fireman B, Grether JK.  Maternal and paternal age and risk of autism spectrum disorders.  Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007 Apr;161(4):334-40.
  • Hansen RL, Ozonoff S, Krakowiak P, Angkustsiri K, Jones K, Deprey LJ, Le D-L, Croen LA, Hertz-Picciotto I.  Regression in Autism: Prevalence and Associated Factors in the CHARGE Study.  Journal Ambulatory Pediatrics 2008;8:25-31.
  • Gregg JP, Lit L, Baron CA, Hertz-Picciotto I, Walker W, Davis RA, Croen LA, Ozonoff S, Hansen R, Pessah IN, Sharp FR.  Gene expression changes in children with autism. Genomics 2008;91:22-29.
  • Braunschweig D, Ashwood P, Krakowiak P, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hansen R, Croen LA, Pessah IN, Van de Water J.  Autism: maternally derived antibodies specific for fetal brain proteins.  Neurotoxicology. 2008 Mar;29(2):226-31. Epub 2007 Nov 6.
  • Krakowiak P, Goodlin-Jones B, Hertz-Picciotto I, Croen LA, Hansen RL.  Sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorders, developmental delays, and typical development: a population-based study.  J Sleep Res. 2008 Jun;17(2):197-206.
  • Enstrom A, Onore C, Hertz-Piccioto I, Hansen R, Croen L, Van de Water J, Ashwood P.  Detection of IL-17 and IL-23 in plasma samples of children with autism. Am J Biochem Biotechnology 2008;4(2):114-120.
  • Enstrom A, Onore C, Tarver A, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hansen R, Croen L, Van de Water J, Ashwood P.  Peripheral blood leukocyte production of BDNF following mitogen stimulation in early onset and regressive autism.  Am J Biochem Biotechnology 2008;4(2):121-129.
  • Croen LA, Goines P, Braunschweig D, Yolken R, Yoshida CK, Grether JK, Fireman B, Kharrazi M, Hansen R, Van de Water J.   Brain-derived neurotrophic factor and autism: maternal and infant peripheral blood levels in the Early Markers for Autism (EMA) Study. Autism Res. 2008 Apr;1(2):130-137.
  • Croen LA, Braunschweig D, Haapanen L, Yoshida CK, Fireman B, Grether JK, Kharrazi M, Hansen RL, Ashwood P, Van de Water J.  Maternal mid-pregnancy autoantibodies to fetal brain protein: the early markers for autism study. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Oct 1;64(7):583-8. Epub 2008 Jun 20.
  • Croen LA, Matevia M, Yoshida CK, Grether JK.  Maternal Rh D status, anti-D immune globulin exposure during pregnancy, and risk of autism spectrum disorders.  Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008 Sep;199(3):234.e1-6. Epub 2008 Jun 13.
  • Ashwood P, Enstrom A, Krakowiak P, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hansen RL, Croen LA, Ozonoff S, Pessah IN, Van de Water J.  Decreased transforming growth factor beta1 in autism: a potential link between immune dysregulation and impairment in clinical behavioral outcomes. J Neuroimmunol. 2008 Nov 15;204(1-2):149-53.
  • Ray GT, Croen LA, Habel LA. Mothers of children diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: health conditions and medical care utilization in periods before and after birth of the child. Med Care. 2009 Jan;47(1):105-14.
  • Heuer L, Schauer J, Goines P, Ashwood P, Hertz-Picciotto I, Hansen R, Croen LA,  Pessah IN, Van de Water J.  Reduced levels of immunoglobulin in children with autism correlates with behavioral symptoms.  Autism Research 2008;1(5):275-83).
  • Wu YW, Croen LA, Torres AR, Van De Water J, Grether JK, Hsu NN. Interleukin-6 genotype and risk for cerebral palsy in term and near-term infants. Ann Neurol. 2009 Nov;66(5):663-70. PubMed PMID: 19938160.
  • Grether JK, Anderson MC, Croen LA, Smith D, Windham GC. Risk of autism and increasing maternal and paternal age in a large north American population. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Nov 1;170(9):1118-26. Epub 2009 Sep 25. PubMed PMID: 19783586.
  • Grether JK, Li SX, Yoshida CK, Croen LA. Antenatal ultrasound and risk of autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Feb;40(2):238-45. Epub 2009 Sep 1. PubMed PMID: 19728066.
  • Grether JK, Rosen NJ, Smith KS, Croen LA. Investigation of shifts in autism reporting in the California Department of Developmental Services. J Autism Dev Disord. 2009 Oct;39(10):1412-9. Epub 2009 May 29. PubMed PMID: 19479197.

Media References

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