Research
Association between prenatal alcohol exposure and child socio-emotional development
Appointments
- Director, UCLA Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Clinic
- Professor, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
- Program Director, ABC Child Partial Outpatient Program
- Training Director, Tarjan Center for Developmental Disabilities
Biography
Dr. O’Connor’s current work examines psychosocial and psychiatric risk due to prenatal alcohol exposure. Dr. O’Connor has conducted research on the prevention of alcohol consumption in pregnant women, intervention with children with prenatal alcohol exposure, and medical and allied health education on prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
All of her work has focused on collaborative national initiatives with the long-term goal of developing best practice models to be disseminated on local, state, and national levels.
The overarching emphasis of Dr. O’Connor’s research career has been the development, evaluation, and dissemination of empirically supported assessment and treatment methods for high-risk children.
Publications
- Mokshagundam, D, Shezad, MF, Conway, J, Dykes, J, Esteso, P, Kobayashi, R et al.. Ventricular Assist Device Use in Pediatric Restrictive and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: An ACTION Registry Analysis. ASAIO J. 2025; :. doi: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000002464. PubMed PMID:40397694 .
- Yap, TA, LoRusso, P, Miller, RE, Kristeleit, R, Paulovich, AG, McMorn, S et al.. The DNA-PK inhibitor AZD7648 alone or combined with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin in patients with advanced cancer: results of a first-in-human Phase I/IIa study. Br J Cancer. 2025; :. doi: 10.1038/s41416-025-03053-x. PubMed PMID:40382524 .
- Abraham, JE, O'Connor, LO, Grybowicz, L, Alba, KP, Dayimu, A, Demiris, N et al.. Neoadjuvant PARP inhibitor scheduling in BRCA1 and BRCA2 related breast cancer: PARTNER, a randomized phase II/III trial. Nat Commun. 2025;16 (1):4269. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59151-0. PubMed PMID:40360463 PubMed Central PMC12075821.
- Wan, R, Li, RA, O'Connor, MJ, Bartler, AV, Bricker, J, Williams, T et al.. Nasal Alar and Tip Reconstruction Following Mohs Surgery Using Fresh Frozen Human Costal Cartilage Allograft: A Novel Approach. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2025;13 (5):e6790. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000006790. PubMed PMID:40356620 PubMed Central PMC12068758.
- Edelson, JB, Huang, J, Wang, Z, Tam, V, Lefktowitz, D, O'Connor, MJ et al.. Identifying the determinants of health-related quality of life in children after heart transplant. JHLT Open. 2025;8 :100250. doi: 10.1016/j.jhlto.2025.100250. PubMed PMID:40292044 PubMed Central PMC12022506.