Rene Pierpont, PhD, LP is an Assistant Professor and pediatric neuropsychologist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. In her clinical work, Dr. Pierpont conducts neuropsychological evaluations and consultations with children with complex medical conditions. Dr. Pierpont is presently a K23 scholar funded by the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Her research program evaluates the impact of neurological disease and clinical treatment on brain structure and function in children with rare genetic conditions. In addition to her research and clinical work, Dr. Pierpont is passionate about partnering with patient communities to develop better resources, guidelines, and avenues of care for children with rare diseases.
Main Area of Research: My academic focus is to identify biological, medical, cognitive, and environmental risk factors that contribute to variable disease presentation across patients with rare diseases, with the goal to enable timely and effective intervention. I am particularly interested in early markers of neurological and neurodevelopmental risk in ALD. I have expertise in the use of cognitive assessments, caregiver rating scales, and neuroimaging modalities (particularly diffusion tensor imaging) within observational studies and clinical trials.