Associate Clinical Professor, Psychiatry & Human Behavior
School of Medicine

Down Syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, Intellectual Disabilities

Dr. Christy Hom is a board certified pediatric neuropsychologist. She completed her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a post-doctoral fellowship in health psychology at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. She was trained in Applied Behavioral Analysis at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University. She was the Associate Director of the UC Irvine Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Clinic from 2007-2015. She is currently the chief neuropsychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and the Associate Director of the Center For Aging Research in Down Syndrome. She has been involved in multiple NIH-funded research studies including the Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers Consortium in Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) as well studies that examine the effects of multisensory stimulation on cognition among children with autism spectrum disorder, childhood maltreatment and depression, and the normal aging process in healthy adults. Dr. Hom’s clinical services include the assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and neurological conditions. Dr. Hom's forensic services include the assessment of individuals with developmental disabilities who have experienced psychological, physical, or medical trauma and the assessment of children and adults who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Hom, C.L., Kirby, K.A., Ricks-Oddie, J., Keator, D.B., Krinsky-McHale, S.J., Pulsifer, M.B., Rosas, H.D., Lai, F., Schupf, N., Lott, I.T., and Silverman, W. (2021). Cognitive function during the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s Disease in Down Syndrome: Comparing Models. Brain Sciences, 11, 1220. https:// doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091220. PMCID: PMC8471085

Harp, J.P., Koehl, L.M., Van Pelt, K.L., Hom, C.L., Doran, E., Head, E., Lott, I.T., & Schmitt, F.A. (2021). Cognitive and Behavioral Domains That Reliably Differentiate Normal Aging and Dementia in Down Syndrome. Brain Sciences, 11, 1128. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091128. PMCID: PMC8468129

Hom, C. L., Walsh, D., Fernandez, G., Tournay, A., Touchette, P., and Lott, I.T. (2021). Cognitive assessment using the Rapid Assessment for Developmental Disabilities, Second Edition (RADD-2). Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 65, 831-848. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12863

Silverman, W. S., Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Lai, F., Rosas, H. D., Hom, C., Doran, E., Pulsifer, M., Lott, I., and Schupf, N. (2020). Evaluation of the National Task Group-Early Detection Screen for Dementia: Sensitivity to 'mild cognitive impairment' in adults with Down syndrome. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34, 905-915. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12849

Keator, D. B., Doran, E., Taylor, L., Phelan, M. J., Hom, C., Tseung, K., van Erp, T. G. M., Potkin, S. G., Brickman, A. M., Rosas, D. H., Yassa, M. A., Silverman, W., and Lott, I. T. (2020). Brain Amyloid and the Transition to Dementia in Down Syndrome. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 12:e12126. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12126

Rosas, H. D., Hsu, E., Mercaldo, N., Lai, F., Pulsifer, M., Keator, D., Brickman, A. M., Price, J., Yassa, M., Hom, C., Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Silverman, W., Lott, I., and Schupf, N. (2020). Alzheimer-related altered white matter microstructural integrity in Down syndrome: a model for sporadic AD? Alzheimer's & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 12:e12040. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12040

Pulsifer, M. B., Evans, C. S., Hom, C., Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Silverman, W., Lai, F., Lott, I., Schupf, N., Wen, J., and Rosas, H.D. (2020). Language skills as a predictor of cognitive decline in adults with Down syndrome. Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 12:e12080. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12080

Keator, D.B., Phelan, M.J.,Taylor, L., Doran, E., Krinsky-McHale, S., Price, J., Ballard, E. E., Kreisl, W. C., Hom, C., Nguyen, D., Pulsifer, M., Lai, F., Rosas, D. H., Brickman, A. M., Schupf, N., Yassa, M. A., Silverman, W., and Lott, I.T. (2020). Down syndrome: Distribution of brain amyloid in mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer’s Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease, 12:e12013. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12013.

Hom, C. L., Nguyen, V., Fernandez, G., Touchette, P., Tournay, A., Plon, L, Lott, I. T., and Himber, P. (2015). The Relationship Between Living Arrangement and Adherence to Antiepileptic Medications Among Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 59, 48-54. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12123.

Saha, S., Doran, E., Osann, D., Hom, C. L., Movsesyan, N., Rosa, D. D., Tournay, A., and Lott, I. T. (2014). Self-concept in Children with Down Syndrome. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 164, 1891-1899. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.a.36597.

Mindora Totoui (PI), Christy Hom (Co-I), and Mark Mapstone (Co-I): Alzheimer’s Disease Blood Biomarkers in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome. Supported by Bright Focus Foundation

Ben Handen (PI), Bradley Christenson (PI), Elizabeth Head (PI), Mark Mapstone (PI), and Christy Hom (Co-I): The Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium – Down Syndrome (ABC-DS). Supported by National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on Aging - 1U19 AG068054-01.

Ira T. Lott (PI), Elizabeth Head (PI), Eric Doran (Co-I), Christy Hom (Co-I), and Dana Nguyen (Co-I). The Down Syndrome – Clinical Trials Network Study of Alzheimer’s Disease in Down Syndrome. Supported by LuMIND

Nicole Shupf (PI), Ira T. Lott (PI), Wayne Silverman (PI), Benjamin Handen (PI), Bradley Christenson (PI): Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in Adults with Down Syndrome. Supported by NIA -- U01AG051412.

National Academy of Neuropsychology

American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology

American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology

American Psychological Association

Trisomy 21 Research Society

International Neuropsychological Society

Fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese

Center for Aging Research in Down Syndrome

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6038

Last updated
05/26/2022