White, Stephanie A., Ph.D.

Research

How social interactions influence the brain

Appointments

• Professor, Integrative Biology and Physiology
• Tennenbaum Center for the Biology of Creativity
• Member, ACCESS Program: Dept. of Molecular, Cell & Integrative Physiology
• Neuroscience IDP
• Brain Research Institute
• Faculty, Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology IDP

Biography

Autism can be clinically diagnosed by two deficits: an inability to participate in joint attention, and poor language development with abnormal social use. The goal of the White laboratory is to understand the mechanisms of this disorder and to develop treatments to compensate for these deficits.

Vocal-learning in songbirds shares key aspects with human speech. In both songbirds and humans:

• Vocal-learning happens during a critical developmental window
• It occurs within discrete regions of the brain that are dedicated to the development and production of learned vocalizations
• Social influences have a significant impact on vocal-learning.

The White laboratory uses songbirds for their unparalleled potential to reveal the basic neural mechanisms that underlie vocal learning. Manipulation of the pupil-tutor relationship is used to determine how social interactions impact learning. In addition, we use genetic interference strategies to functionally test the effects of over- or under-expression of molecules involved in learning in mammals, for their role in vocal learning under different rearing conditions.

Publications

1. White, SA, Subasinghe, SAAS, Romero, J, Samee, AH, Yustein, JT, Pautler, RG et al.. Hypoxia Imaging as a Radiomics Signature in Tumors Using Novel ¹⁹F-Eu-Based Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. bioRxiv. 2025; :. doi: 10.1101/2025.10.11.681845. PubMed PMID:41279164 PubMed Central PMC12632914.
2. Malik, AK, Geh, D, Jeffry Evans, TR, Chow, PKH, Mann, DA, White, SA et al.. Improving surgical treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025; :. doi: 10.1038/s41575-025-01143-y. PubMed PMID:41249657 .
3. Malik, AK, White, SA, Mann, DA. Comment on: Nivolumab plus ipilimumab for potentially resectable hepatocellular carcinoma: long-term efficacy and biomarker exploration. J Hepatol. 2025; :. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2025.10.023. PubMed PMID:41177403 .
4. Aitelli, A, White, SA, Nisly, GRC, Kuller, J, Dotters-Katz, SK. Importance of Targeted Care in Improving Maternal-Child Outcomes in Teen Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2025;80 (9):565-573. doi: 10.1097/OGX.0000000000001436. PubMed PMID:40947549 .
5. Spencer, SA, Malowa, F, McCarty, D, Joekes, E, Phulusa, J, Chinoko, B et al.. Acute breathlessness as a cause of hospitalisation in Malawi: a prospective, patient-centred study to evaluate causes and outcomes. Thorax. 2025; :. doi: 10.1136/thorax-2025-223623. PubMed PMID:40930982 .

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