Faculty in Focus
Meet the Faculty and Collaborators
Through the Faculty in Focus series, you will meet UCI CFAR-DS faculty members and collaborators at other institutions. The Faculty in Focus series introduces our audience to the faculty researchers leading cutting-edge research in Down syndrome with UC Irvine.
Pictured above are faculty, staff, and students involved in CFAR-DS research on the UC Irvine main campus.
Angela Lukowski, PhD
Dr. Angela Lukowski is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science in the School of Social Ecology at UC Irvine.
Some of Dr. Lukowski’s recent research focuses on associations between memory and well-being in parents of children who have Down syndrome.
Tell us about your journey to UC Irvine.
I went to a small liberal arts college for undergrad and majored in Psychology (after a brief initial stint as a music major – I wanted to be a singer!). I conducted research in two different labs as an undergrad, but I wanted to learn more about academic life at a major research institution. For that reason, I applied to Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs the summer after my junior year of college. I was ultimately selected to attend the program offered through the Center for Cognitive Sciences at the University of Minnesota. I had a great experience that summer and continued working on my assigned project with my summer research mentor throughout my senior year of college. I applied to Ph.D. programs that same year, and the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota was my top choice. I started graduate school there in 2001, I finished my Ph.D. in 2007, and I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan immediately after. I started my career at UCI as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Behavior (now Psychological Science) in 2008.
What DS-focused studies are you currently leading?
My lab is currently conducting three DS-focused studies. We have been collecting data on a study examining recall memory and generalization of learning in young children with DS for some time now (we are still recruiting families with children with DS who are younger than 5 years old!). Our second ongoing study examines parents’ reflections on significant life events with their child with DS, including when their child was born and when they learned of their child’s DS diagnosis. We previously conducted similar research with moms as participants; this ongoing study includes both moms and dads. Our third study focuses on dinnertime conversations in families who have 9- to 12-year-old children with DS. Researchers have previously examined associations among family conversations and child functioning, but our study is the first to our knowledge to examine these relationships in families with children with DS.
What is your favorite part of being a researcher?
My favorite part of being a researcher is conducting work that has the potential to meaningfully impact the lives of children with DS and their families. I love sharing the results of our collective efforts with and having the opportunity to learn more from them about where additional research is needed based on their lived experiences. Connecting with the community and conducting work that matters to individuals with DS and their families is one of the most meaningful aspects of my career.
Where do you do your research?
We do our behavioral studies with young children in child-safe lab space on campus, our parent interviews are done online through Qualtrics and Zoom, and our dinnertime conversation study will be done naturalistically in families’ homes (we will send out audio recorders that families will mail back to us when data collection is complete). Conducting much of our research online and in families’ homes allows us to recruit participants from across the country, ultimately yielding a larger and more diverse sample than is possible when we have to test participants in the lab here in southern California.
When did you join CFAR-DS and what prompted you to?
I started attending the CFAR-DS colloquia to become more involved with a community of scholars who were at the forefront of scientific discoveries on DS and Alzheimer’s disease. I was formally invited to become a faculty affiliate of CFAR-DS in March 2023 after presenting my research at one of the monthly meetings. My involvement in this academic community has broadened my perspective on my own work and has deepened my knowledge of the important research that is being conducted here at UCI and at other institutions. I feel incredibly fortunate to count myself among this incredible group of faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and staff who are working to make the world a better place for individuals with DS and their families.
Pictured below is Dr. Lukowski and members of her lab at the 2024 UCI Down Syndrome Showcase.
Wayne Silverman, PhD
Dr. Dr. Wayne Silverman is a member of the Pediatrics Department at UC Irvine, as well as a faculty member of UCI’s Center for Aging Research in Down Syndrome.
Dr. Silverman’s research focuses on the psychological and biomedical aspects of aging among adults with Down syndrome. These studies include genetics, epigenetics, blood biomarkers, epidemiology, neuropathology, and neurology, as well as psychology.
When did you join CFAR-DS and what prompted you to do so?
I came to UCI in 2017 with a 30+ year history of research focused on Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome (DS-AD). Naturally, CFAR-DS was a “made-to-order” home.
What is your favorite part of being a researcher?
There have been far too many rewarding things for me to pick a favorite, so here are a few bullets representing what I consider the real joys:
Having my own projects “work” and seeing interest in DS-AD grow;
Working with exceptionally talented colleagues, including a few that are truly brilliant;
Having a “front row seat” for revolutionary changes in biomedical science and the whole world view of people with IDD;
Receiving peer recognition and being in positions to provide well-earned recognition to others, including receiving and reviewing grants.
This leaves out a lot, but one more, outside the “academic world,” stands apart from the rest. It must have been around 15 years ago by now. I needed a flat tire fixed in Baltimore and the owner of the store asked if I was the Dr. Silverman who studied Down syndrome. I went out for a bite to eat and when I came back to pick up the car his wife and adult son with Down syndrome were waiting to meet me and tell me how much my work meant to them. That still tops my list.
When did you start doing research and how did your journey bring to UCI?
My research in the field of developmental disabilities began in 1972, and my long journey to UCI has been largely shaped by several fortuitous chance events. First, I picked Irv Biederman’s course in Cognition on a whim my senior year and Irv surprised me with an invitation to come to graduate school. I figured why not give it a shot.
My Ph.D. focused on basic information processing and had nothing to do with developmental disabilities. However, the summer following completion of my third year a faculty member heard about a one-year position at the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Mental Retardation (NYS-IBR) Note the 1972 terminology. He saw me standing outside his office and suggested it would be a good experience. It was a tough job market, so I figured it was worth a shot. Off to Staten Island along with a new bride, Laurie, now my wife for 52 years.
I arrived at IBR only knowing what I learned in Psychology 101 about IDD, but it wasn’t hard to adapt my basic studies to examining the impacts of lower IQ on fundamental aspects of information processing. My temporary position became permanent, and all was going well when IBR got a new Director, a world-renowned neuropathologist, Henryk Wisniewski, M.D., Ph.D. I’m not sure what drew Dr. Wisniewski to IBR in 1976, given his longstanding interest in neurodegenerative diseases rather than IDD, but his arrival was “life-changing” for me.
Henry had zero interest in cognitive psychology, but I guess he thought I could be useful in other ways. He “requested” that I contribute 50% of my time to activities of his choosing. I thought this was an outrageous imposition, but I had learned from summer work in industry that a “request” from the boss is never to be taken lightly, so I thought my only options were to agree or leave. I had taken an immediate liking to Henry otherwise, so I decided to give it a shot. That turned out to be a great decision, leading to a close partnership that lasted over 20 years.
Henry came to depend on me to pull projects together, so when the 1986 RFA (request for applications) came out for ADRCs he “asked” me if I was interested – again, not really a question – so I said “sure.” I knew little about AD at the time, but Henry thought we could combine interest in AD with interest in lifespan development of people with IDD as a unique strength and my role would emphasize IDD content.
The reviews weren’t bad, but not good enough. However, the process provided the foundation for a program project application on aging and dementia in adults with IDD, including Down syndrome. Our first P01 was funded in 1987 with Henry as PI and me as Co-Director. A series of successful competitive renewals followed, adding colleagues at Columbia and shifting my role to PI and only ending when the ADDS U01 was awarded.
Henry died in 1999 and IBR’s new Directors had other priorities. It took a while, but by 2005 the time had come for me to move. I landed happily at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, eventually assuming the Directorship of their IDDRC. It was a fantastic experience.
I had planned to stay in Baltimore until retirement, but my older son met his wife, a “California Girl,” at NYU and they moved to LA. Once a grandson arrived, my wife “requested” we move to LA – decision made! I had been collaborating with Dr. Lott for several years by that point, making UCI my natural new academic home.
What have you done and how does it tie into what you’re doing now?
My research on IDD began in 1972 and research on a diversity of topics has strengthened my work on ABC-DS and the ADRC DS Core. Early studies of the impacts of ID on basic information processing equipped me for quantifying cognitive changes occurring with DS-AD progression. Other earlier studies expanded my skills in assessment of adaptive behavior and analyses of large data sets but work on AD-related topics since the mid-1980s have had the most relevance. Multidisciplinary studies involving genetics, epigenetics, blood biomarkers, epidemiology, neuropathology, and neurology, as well as psychology, have included everything from localization of the APP gene on chromosome 21 to evaluations of the sensitivity and specificity of specific instruments for assessing DS-AD progression.
