Dr. Kevin Pelphrey

Harrison-Wood Jefferson Foundation Scholars Professor of Neurology and Professor, Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia

Dr. Kevin Pelphrey is the Harrison-Wood Jefferson Foundation Scholars Professor of Neurology and Professor, Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. As a neuroscientist, his research investigates the brain basis of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. The goal of his research is to understand the causes of autism to help get the right treatment to the right individual at the right time. Dr. Pelphrey is also the Principal Investigator of the NIH Autism Center for Excellence—Multimodal Developmental Neurogenetics of Females with Autism network that spans the University of Virginia, George Washington University, Children’s National Health System, Yale, UCLA, University of Southern California, University of Colorado at Denver, and University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital. His contributions to the field have been recognized by receipt of a NIH Scientist Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, a John Merck Scholars Award, the Microsoft Corporation’s Breakthrough Award and the American Psychological Association’s Boyd McCandless Award for distinguished early career theoretical contributions to Developmental Psychology. Dr. Pelphrey is the father of five children, including two children on the autism spectrum. As a father and advocate, he serves at the request of the Secretary of Health and Human Services as a public member of the Federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee