Christopher J. Stodgell, Ph.D.

Dr. Stodgell attended the University of Kansas, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology in 1989, a Masters of Science in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1995, and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 1996. He pursued his post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Rochester in Molecular Genetics and Teratology as a NIEHS fellow.In 1999, he became an Instructor in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and in 2001, was promoted to Assistant Professor. In July, 2007, Dr. Stodgell was promoted to Research Associate Professor.

Dr. Stodgell has received the Wilson Publication Award from the Teratology Society, for a publication he coauthored in on the role of the HOXA1 polymorphism in autism (2000). He has also received the James G. Wilson Award in Teratology for Outstanding Postdoctoral Research (1998); the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression Young Investigator Award (1997) and, the Roland D. Ciaranello M.D. Memorial Fellowship in Basic Research for Autism by the National Alliance for Autism Research (1999)

Current areas of interest

Dr. Stodgell's research is focused on the environmental and genetic etiologies of developmental disabilities. This research has utilized rodents to model aberrant behavioral and neurochemical processes that are often seen in people with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities.

Currently, Dr. Stodgell is focusing on the environmental and genetic etiologies of autism spectrum disorders. Research with Dr. Patricia Rodier and colleagues has lead to the identification of a polymorphic form of the HOXA1, a gene responsible for development of the nervous system, and its association with autism. Work on the genetics of autism has also been done in collaboration with the Collaborative Programs for Excellence in Autism, which has identified several other genes related to autism.

Research is also being conducted on the Cohen Diabetic rat as a model organism to study Type-2 diabetes and the effects that high sucrose diets have on embryonic gene expression, and development.

Another area of research is on the genetics of vulvar vestibulitis, a disorder that affects approximately 13-15% of women resulting in chronic pain. This work has led to the identification that the presence of polymorphic variants of the melanocortin-1 receptor, and the Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist increase the risk of having this condition.

How to contact Dr. Stodgell

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

University of Rochester School of Medicine

601 Elmwood, Box 668

Rochester, NY 14642

585-275-1902

e-mail: Chris_Stodgell@urmc.rochester.edu

Honors

• NIH Loan Repayment Award (2003 - present)

• Teratology Society’s Wilson Publication Award for Outstanding Publication (2001)

• National Alliance for Autism Research, Roland D. Ciaranello M.D. Award for Basic Research (1999)
• The James G. Wilson Award in Teratology for Outstanding Postdoctoral Research (1998)
• National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders Young Investigator Award (1997)

Patent

• Rodier PM, Ingram JL, Figlewicz DA, Hyman SL, and Stodgell CJ. (2001) Genetic polymorphisms which are associated with autism spectrum disorders. Patent no. US 6,228,582 B1.

Recent Publications

• (Ingram JL, Stodgell CJ)*, Hyman SL, Figlewicz, DA, Weitkamp, LR, & Rodier PM. Discovery of allelic variants of HOXA1 and HOXB: Genetic susceptibility to autism spectrum disorders. Teratology. 62:393-405.  *Authors receive equal authorship.(2000)

• Stodgell CJ, Ingram JL, & Hyman SL. The role of candidate genes in unraveling the genetics of autism. International Review on Research in Mental Retardation, 20:57-81. (2001)

• Conciatori M, Stodgell CJ, Hyman SL, O’Bara M, Militerni R, Bravaccio C, Trillo S, Montecchi F, Scheider, C, Melmed, R, Ella M, Crawford L, Spence S, Muscarella L, Guarnleri V, D’Agruma L, Quattrone A, Zelante L, Rabinowitz D, Pascucci T, Puglisi-Allegra S, Reichelt K-L, Rodier PM, & Persico A. Morphogenetic effect of the HOXA1 A218G polymorphism on head circumference in patients with autism. Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 55:413-419. (2004)

• Devlin B, Bennet P, Dawson G, Figlewicz DA, Grigenko EL, McMahon W, Minshew N, Pauls D, Smith M, Spence MA, Rodier PM, & Stodgell CJ, the CPEA Genetics Network, & Schellenberg, GD. Alleles of a reelin CGG repeat do not convey liability to autism in a sample from the CPEA network. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B (Neuropsychiatric Genetics), 126B:46-50.

  (2004)

• Foster DC, Sazenski TM, & Stodgell CJ. Impact of genetic variation of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and melanocortin-1 receptor genes on Vulvar Vestibulitis Syndrome (Vestibulodynia). Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 49:503-509. (2004)

• Arndt T, Stodgell CJ, & Rodier PM. The Teratology of Autism. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 23:189-199. (2005)

• Devlin B, Cook EH, Coon H, Dawson G, Grigorenko E, McMahon W, Minshew N, Pauls D, Rodier PM, Smith M, Spence

  MA, Stodgell CJ, the CPEA Genetics Network9, Schellenberg GD. Autism and the serotonin transporter: the long and short of it. Molecular Psychiatry, 10:1110-1116. (2005)

• Lainhart JE, Bigler ED, Bocian M, Coon H, Dinh E, Dawson G, Deutsch CK, Dunn M, Estes A, Tager-Flusberg H, Folstein S, Hepburn S, Hyman S, McMahon W, Minshew N, Munson J, Osann K, Ozonoff S, Rodier P, Rogers S, Sigman M, Spence

  MA, Stodgell CJ, Volkmar F. Head circumference and height in autism: A study by the collaborative program of excellence in autism. American Journal of Medical Genetics: Part A, 40(21):2257-2274. (2006)

• Schellenberg GD, Dawson G, Sung YJ, Estes A, Munson J, Rosenthal E, Rothstein J, Leong L, Yu CE, Stodgell CJ, Stodgell RM, Spence MA, Minshew N, McMahon W, Wijsman EM. Evidence for multiple loci from a genome scan of autism kindreds. Molecular Psychiatry, 11:1049-1060. (2006)

• Stodgell CJ, Ingram JL, O’Bara M, Tisdale BK, Nau H, & Rodier PM. Induction of the homeotic gene Hoxa1 through valproic acid's teratogenic mechanism of action. Neurotoxicology and Teratology, 28(5):617-624. (2006)

• The Autism Genome Project Consortium (Member). Mapping autism risk loci using genetic linkage and chromosomal rearrangements. Nature Genetics 39(3):319-328. (2007)

• Brune CW, Korvatska E, Cook EH, Dawson G, Devlin B, Estes A, Hennelly SL, McMahon WM, Munson J, Rodier PM, Schellenberg GD, Stodgell CJ, Coon H. Heterogeneous Association between Engrailed-2 and Autism in the CPEA Network. Neuropsychiatric Genetics (In Press) AJMB-07-0061.R1(30585). (2007)

Updated November 27, 2007