Deborah A. Pearson, Ph.D.

Professor
Director, Developmental Neuropsychology Clinic
Associate Director, Clinical Psychology Internship Program
Associate Clinical Director, Lonestar LEND (Leadership Education In Neurodevelopmental And Related Disorders)

Email:   Deborah.A.Pearson@uth.tmc.edu
Phone:  713-486-2588

Biography

Deborah A. Pearson, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has been with the department for over 30 years. A licensed psychologist, she specializes in the evaluation of children and adolescents having a variety of cognitive, developmental and behavioral problems including Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and medical and genetic concerns such as Tuberous Sclerosis Complex. She serves as director of the Developmental Neuropsychology Clinic, leading a multidisciplinary team that provides developmental and psychological assessments for infants, children and adolescents. She works closely with local community agencies and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for The Arc of Greater Houston and advisory board member for The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD.

Pearson has studied a variety of cognitive and behavioral problems in children and adolescents with ADHD, autism, HIV infection, and serious behavior problems. Her research has been funded continuously by NIH, state agencies, private foundations, and industry. She has focused much of her research on pharmacological treatments for behavioral and cognitive problems in children with developmental disabilities such as autism and intellectual disability. In recent years, she has also studied the efficacy of alternative treatments for children with autism, as well as the relative merits of behavioral and medication interventions for children and adolescents with ASD.Education.

Educational Philosophy

My journey as an educator began in graduate school, when I realized my lectures might be the only exposure my students would ever have to psychology.  During that time, I developed the general philosophy that a teacher must teach material aimed for the future, and that the material I presented had to have practical applications in the lives of my students. Teaching is a tremendous responsibility; it is also an incredibly rare privilege.

Another component of my educational philosophy is the importance of interpersonal factors in education.  Faculty serve as individual role models for their students, creating a “culture” of technical excellence, personal integrity, and compassion for patients and families.  We also need to support students as they develop the interpersonal skills required for professional growth. A key example of this principle is seen in how the group dynamics of a PBL group emerge over the two months the group is together. They start as a group of individuals—and wind up working together as an integrated team with various strengths that contribute to a gestalt that is far greater than the sum its parts. We are preparing these young medical students for the future of medicine—a world in which they will function as part of interdisciplinary teams (i.e., not the lone ranger)—and they need to function seamlessly in that environment.  In the 10+ years I taught PBL every block, I watched this dynamic emerge every time—and knew that the future of medicine was in very good hands.

Although I have remained an active classroom teacher, in the last decade I have become more and more focused on mentoring—both trainees and especially junior faculty.  I was the beneficiary of tremendous mentoring, and it is now my duty—and pleasure—to serve in this role for others following me.

In summary, as a faculty member with 30+ years experience at UTHealth, I am in the “passing it forward” stage of a career—helping students and junior faculty learn to navigate the sometimes challenging waters of academic medicine in the 21st century.  I ask only one thing in return from them—that when the time comes, that they pass it forward to another young person.

Areas of Expertise

  • Autism
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • ADHD
  • Cognitive Development
  • Clinical trials in ASD/DD
  • Psychological/Developmental/Neuropsychological Assessment

Education

Master’s Degree
Psychology, Rice University, Houston, TX

Doctoral Degree
Psychology, Rice University, Houston, TX

Clinical Interests

ADHD/ADD
Autism
Developmental & Intellectual Disabilities
Psychological Assessment

Research Interests

Attention Deficit Disorders
Developmental disabilities
Neuropsychology
Psychopharmacology

My educational efforts have been focused on medical students, psychiatry and pediatric residents and fellows, undergraduates planning careers in medicine and psychology, and LEND fellows.  I also focus on the mentorship of junior faculty colleagues, to help guide them through various pathways for their professional development.

My aims in these activities are:

  • To assist learners in advancing their knowledge of developmental psychopathology, skills, and professional behaviors.
  • To provide opportunities to practice their knowledge in my clinic and through my various research projects.
  • To serve as a role model, creating a culture of technical excellence, personal integrity, and compassion for patients and families.
  • To mentor the next generation of mental health and pediatric professionals, as they progress from undergraduates to very senior trainees (e.g., child psychiatry fellows, LEND fellows) to junior faculty colleagues.

 Past and Current Educational Activities:

  • Problem Based Learning (PBL): Facilitator and case-writer.
  • Lecturer, MS-2 Nervous System and Behavior Course (the behavior component of this course was formerly the Behavioral Sciences course)
  • Seminar leader, psychiatry residents and child psychiatry fellows’ didactic series.
  • Facilitator, child psychiatry fellows PBL series.
  • Research mentor, psychiatry residents and child psychiatry fellows.
  • Summer Research Program mentor.
  • Director, Undergraduate internship/independent studies program with Rice University psychology department.
  • Mentor, graduate psychology practicum students, University of Houston and University of Houston-Clear Lake.
  • Supervisor, Psychology Postdoctoral Fellows
  • Committee member, various master theses and doctoral dissertations
  • Co-Director and Associate Clinical Director, LoneStar LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders) Training Program.
  • Associate Director, UT-Health Doctoral Psychology Internship Program
  • Academy of Master Educators: Member

Honors/Awards/Appointments

  • Dean’s Teaching Excellence Awards
  • Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding contribution as a facilitator:  MS-2 Problem-Based Learning Course
  • UT Summer Research Program: Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Support of undergraduate and medical student summer research projects
  • Teaching Award: Most Consistent Support Award, Clinical Psychology Residents
  • Teaching Award, Excellence as a lecturer, U.T. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program
  • Mentor Program Appreciation Award

Selected Publications (with trainees)

  • Dickerson AS, Pearson DA, Loveland KA, Rahbar, MH, & Filipek, PA. (2014) Role of parental occupation in autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and severity. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8:997-1007.
  • Dickerson, A.S., Rahbar, M.H., Bakian, A.V., Bilder, D.A., Harrington, R.A., Pettygrove, S., Kirby, R.S., Durkin, M., Han, I., Moyé, L.A., Pearson, D.A., Wingate, M.S., & Zahorodny, W.M. (2016) Autism spectrum disorder prevalence and associations with air concentrations of lead, mercury, and arsenic. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188, 407.
  • Farach LS, Gibson, WT, Sparagana SP, Neelist M, Stempel CT, Hietala M., Friedman E, Pearson DA, Creighton SP, Wagemans A, Segel R, Ben-Shalom E, Au KS, Northrup H. (2017). TSC2 c.1864C>T variant associated with mild cases of tuberous sclerosis complex.  American Journal of Genetics A., 173:771-775.
  • Mansour, R., Dovi, A.T., Lane, D.M., Loveland, K.A., & Pearson, D.A. (2017). ADHD severity as it relates to comorbid psychiatric symptomatology in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research in Developmental Disabilities, 60: 52-64.
  • Reynolds, KC, Patriquin M, Alfano CA, Loveland KA, and Pearson, DA. (2017) Parent-reported problematic sleep behaviors in children with comorbid autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.  Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 39:20-32.
  • Mowrey, K.E., Ashfaq, M., Pearson, D.A., Hashmi, S., Roberds, Farach, L., & S. Northrup, H. (2018) Psychiatric impact of tuberous sclerosis complex and utilization of mental health treatment.  Pediatric Neurology,  91: 41-49.
  • Farach LS, Pearson DA, Woodhouse JP, Schraw JM, Sahin M, Krueger DA, Wu JY, Bebin EM, Luo, PJ, Au KS, Northrup H, and the TACERN Study Group. Tuberous sclerosis complex genotypes and developmental phenotype. Pediatric Neurology (in press).