CAITLIN McDERMOTT, BA Clinical Research Coordinator
Caitlin McDermott, BA, joined the Developing Brain Institute (DBI) at Children’s National in August 2023 as a Clinical Research Coordinator. Prior to joining DBI, Caitlin completed her undergraduate degree at Georgetown University, graduating with degrees in Cognitive Science, Linguistics and Bioethics. She worked at Georgetown University’s Medical Center for several years, serving as a Research Assistant at the Cognitive Recovery Lab (CRL). She completed a Senior Honor’s Thesis under the guidance and mentorship of the CRL, studying post-infarction communication disorders and conducting connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping. Caitlin’s research expanded upon voxel-based analyses by examining white matter connectivity in patients with apraxia of speech and aphasia.
She served as a volunteer with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the Wounded Warrior Project, and as a literacy tutor for District of Columbia Public Schools. Caitlin’s passion for the interplay between brain function and language inspired her to study critical periods of brain development and the plasticity of the brain after injury, further igniting an interest in fetal and neonatal brain development. She hopes to contribute to the DBI’s research improving the monitoring of high-risk pregnancies and offspring’s long-term health outcomes through the application of novel imaging biomarkers. Moreover, as a former sick kid, Caitlin wants to help Children’s mission of helping kids grow up stronger.
Address: 111 Michigan Ave. NW; Washington, D.C., 20010
Email: [email protected]
Department: MRI Lab
Recent publications & presentations
2025 | April
Cook KM, De Asis-Cruz J, McDermott C, Andescavage N, Limperopoulos C. "Experience of Neighborhood Disadvantage Is Associated With Altered Structural Brain Development Even Before Birth." Oral Abstract presentation. Pediatric Academic Societies 2025. Honolulu, Hawaii. April 2025.
2023 | May
Saeed H, Lu YC, Andescavage N, Kapse K, Andersen NR, Lopez C, Quistorff J, Barnett S, Henderson D, Bulas D, Limperopoulos C.
Influence of maternal psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic on placental morphometry and texture. Sci Rep. 2023 May 10;13(1):7374. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-33343-4. PMID: 37164993; PMCID: PMC10172401
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37164993/
2023 | April
Lundberg RS, Basu SK, Andescavage N, Pradhan S, Ottolini KM, Kapse KJ, Limperopoulos C.
Early parenteral lipid intake improves cerebellar neurometabolism in preterm infants. Children’s National Hospital 13th Annual Research, Education and Innovation Week. Washington, D.C. April 2023. (Award-winning poster: Clinical research: Fellows/residents)
2022 | April
Wu Y, Espinosa KM, Barnett SD, Kapse A, Quistorff JL, Lopez C, Andescavage N, Pradhan S, Lu YC, Kapse K, Henderson D, Vezina G, Wessel D, du Plessis AJ, Limperopoulos C.
Association of elevated maternal psychological distress, altered fetal brain, and offspring cognitive and social-emotional outcomes at 18 months. JAMA Netw Open. 2022 Apr 1;5(4):e229244. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.9244. PMID: 35486403; PMCID: PMC9055453
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35486403/