Patricia Martin Rodier, Ph.D.

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Dr. Rodier's special interest is in how early injuries to the nervous system are expressed in later form and function. She has studied the effects of such teratogens as antimitotic drugs, anesthetics, methylmercury, methylazoxymethanol, and ethanol. In recent years, she has devoted her efforts to trying to understand the genetic and environmental causes of the autism spectrum disorders. She developed an animal model of environmentally induced autism, using exposure to valproic acid at the time of neural tube closure. This is now the model most widely used to investigate the neurobiology of autism. With colleagues at Rochester and several other sites, her team has demonstrated many parallels between human cases and the animal model in both neuroanatomy and behavior. She also has investigated genetic susceptibility factors, gene expression after exposure to teratogens, and interactions between genotypes and response to environmental exposures.

Current Appointments

• Professor - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SMD)