{"id":9476,"date":"2022-11-17T10:28:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T18:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwautism\/?page_id=9476"},"modified":"2026-04-10T10:59:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T17:59:55","slug":"research-staff","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/uwautism\/research-projects\/research-staff\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Research Team<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Annette Estes, Ph.D.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Director, UW Autism Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

Annette Estes, Ph.D., directs the University of Washington Autism Center (UWAC), an organization devoted to supporting autistic people and their families, caregivers and community through clinical services, research, and training. She holds the Susan and Richard Fade Endowed Chair, is a Research Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. She is also a licensed psychologist in the state of Washington. Her research is carried out at the UW Autism Center and Center on Human Development and Disability.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

Over the last decade, Dr. Estes has served as principal investigator on a series of clinical trials to determine the best ways to support young autistic children. These collaborative, multisite, studies have investigated innovations in naturalistic, developmental, behavioral intervention and ask the question, \u201chow can we improve outcomes for very young autistic children.\u201d In collaborations with scientists and clinicians at University of California, Davis, University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University, Harvard, and University of California, Los Angeles, she has worked to expand the evidence regarding how to best support autistic children and their parents.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

Dr. Estes has also been part of the Infant Brain Imaging Study Network (IBIS) for over 15 years.\u00a0 She is the co-principal investigator of with Dr. Stephen Dager at the University of Washington. She directs the behavioral assessment core of the multi-site IBIS Network with clinical sites at University of North Carolina, Washington University, Children\u2019s Hospital of Pennsylvania, and UW. The aim of the IBIS is to improve early recognition of infants at high likelihood of autism and identify brain mechanisms that may lead to new strategies to help children reach their full potential and live their best lives.<\/u><\/u><\/p>\n

Dr. Estes was recently awarded a grant to study sleep in school-aged children at high likelihood of autism. She is especially interested in the role of the family in supporting positive outcomes for children with disabilities and improving the lives of autistic people.<\/p>\n

Email: estesa@uw.edu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Martha Cagley<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Research Coordinator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martha Cagley is the Research Coordinator for the IBIS Sleep Study. She comes to the Autism Center from the University of Washington School of Nursing, where she was a team member in the Northwest Research Group on Aging (NWRGA). She was involved in research studies looking at Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, as well as sleep problems in relation to osteoarthritis pain in older adults. Martha was also involved in \u201cSleepsmart\u201d, a study working with children experiencing arthritis pain and sleep problems.<\/p>\n

Martha was the exercise professional in the NWRGA and is interested in how regular physical exercise can decrease pain, improve sleep and cognitive function. She has been a professional exercise class instructor for over forty years.<\/p>\n

Ms. Cagley is very happy to be working with the Autism Center. She has a thirty-six year old son on the spectrum, with whom she lives. Since his birth, she has been interested in research regarding Autism, so working with the IBIS Sleep Study feels like two of her greatest interests have come together.<\/p>\n

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Giuliana Castelli<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Research Study Coordinator<\/strong><\/p>\n

Giuliana Castelli is a Research Study Coordinator for the Infant Brain Imaging Studies. She collaborates closely with families by recruiting, enrolling, and scheduling visits to collect behavioral assessments, EEG data, and MRI scans.<\/p>\n

Giuliana received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, in Philosophy and Art. She is passionate about clinical psychology and plans to pursue graduate studies in the field. She is excited to build on this experience and make a meaningful impact in mental health research and care.<\/p>\n

Outside of the office, Giuliana enjoys painting, reading, and spending time with her family, her partner, and her dog.<\/p>\n

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Myles Jackson<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Behavior Technician<\/strong><\/p>\n

Myles Jackson finds deep joy and fulfillment in working with children, especially those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After earning a biology degree from Whittier College and a master\u2019s in public health from Rutgers University, where his research focused on autism outcomes, he knew he had found the community he wanted to serve. His experience includes work as a paraeducator, kindergarten teacher, and collaborator with behaviorists in both classroom and clinical settings. Now based in Washington, Myles is dedicated to fostering a neuro-affirming culture and increasing public understanding of the connection between behavior and communication.<\/p>\n

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Kate MacDuffie, M.A., Ph.D.<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Assistant Professor, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle Children\u2019s Research Institute, UW School of Medicine Dept of Pediatrics<\/p>\n

Dr. MacDuffie\u2019s\u00a0research focuses on understanding the ethical and social impacts of advances in neuroscience on children and families affected by neurodevelopmental, neurological, and psychiatric conditions. She uses a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and conceptual methods with the overarching goal of embedding the perspectives of research participants and other impacted stakeholders into the practice and process of neuroscience research. She has been a part of the UWAC research team since joining as a post-doctoral fellow in 2017. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking in the beautiful\u00a0Washington woods with her family and dog.<\/p>\n

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Jeep Madison, M.A., CCC-SLP<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Graduate Student Research Assistant<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeep Madison is a PhD student and Research Assistant for the Infant Brain Imaging Study for Early Prediction of Autism Spectrum Disorder and study of Down Syndrome Infant Development. He works directly with families through recruitment, enrollment, and running visits for collecting behavioral assessments, EEG and MRI scans. He is also an ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP).<\/p>\n

Jeep received his Bachelors of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Sociology from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio prior to receiving his Master\u2019s in Communication Disorders from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts. His expanding areas of interest include, autism development, pragmatics, and adult autism.<\/p>\n

Outside of the office he enjoys spending time with family and friends, music festivals, staying active, the arts, and his tuxedo cat, Nigel.<\/p>\n

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Jeffrey Munson, Ph.D<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Staff<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Director of Technical Services<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Munson studies variability in the development of children with autism. His research contributes to the identification of the genetic basis of autism and to the development of more accurate prognoses and interventions. Currently, he is developing methods to analyze social skills and language comprehension in children with limited abilities to communicate. In these studies, he uses eye-tracking and other technologies to measure the responses of children to real-time 3-D graphics. Munson also uses various statistical methods to analyze patterns of development in children with autism.<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/faculty.washington.edu\/jeffmun\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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Marta Picoto, PhD<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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\"Staff<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Postdoctoral Fellow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marta Picoto, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at the UW Autism Center. She received her PhD in School Psychology from the University of Washington and completed her doctoral internship at the UC Davis MIND Institute. Dr. Picoto is passionate about supporting youth with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders and their families, with a particular focus on providing efficient and accurate assessments to guide service delivery. She has experience with clinical and school-based evaluations, cognitive behavioral therapy (individual and group), social skills and executive functioning programs, applied behavior analysis, and consultation with service providers. She is also a certified PC-CARE provider, delivering this short-term parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) intervention for young children and their caregivers. Originally from Lisbon, Portugal, Dr. Picoto enjoys spending summers there with her family and friends. In her free time, she loves exploring new restaurants, watching Pixar movies, and playing the NYT games.<\/p>\n

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Shruthi Ravi, PhD, CCC-SLP<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Shruthi Ravi is a research scientist and speech-language pathologist at the University of Washington Autism Center, with a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Texas at Dallas. Her work dives into understanding early social communication in infants, focusing on those later diagnosed with autism, to better inform impactful, developmental early interventions. Shruthi has published significant findings on the nuanced pathways of language development, as part of the multi-site Infant Brain Imaging Study. Outside the lab, Shruthi enjoys reading, singing, cooking, and honing her sarcasm skills\u2014because what\u2019s life without a little dry humor?<\/p>\n

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Tanya St. John, Ph.D.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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Licensed Psychologist<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Tanya St. John is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Research Scientist at the University of Washington Autism Center.<\/p>\n

She completed her doctoral work at Seattle Pacific University, predoctoral internship at City of Hope National Medical Center, and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Washington Autism Center.<\/p>\n

Dr. St. John has devoted her career to understanding autism across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on toddlers and young children.<\/p>\n

Dr. St. John has served as project manager and diagnostic clinician on various NIH-funded studies including the Infant Brain Imaging Study and is an independent ADOS trainer.<\/p>\n

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Alumni<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
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