Julie Ann Kable Ph.D

Dr. Kable has over 25 years of experience in teratology research (i.e. alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine) and is the Associate Director of the Emory Neurodevelopmental Exposure Clinic, which provides clinical services to infants and children who have a history of prenatal exposure to various substances. Dr. Kable has specialized in assessing physiological/neurophysiological responses (auditory brain stem response, heart rate (cardiac orienting responses or COR), galvanic skin response, respiration, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)) to assess the impact of these teratogens on arousal and attentional control, early cognitive functioning, and cognitive inhibition skills.

Dr. Kable is a Multiple Primary Investigator of the Healthy Brain Child Development (HBCD) Study conducted at Emory University. HBCD is a multi-site research study that is designed to prospectively examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social and emotional development of children beginning prenatally through ages 9-10, and to determine the impact of maternal pre- and postnatal substance use. Dr. Kable is also a Multiple Primary Investigator of a study assessing the predictive validity of the COR obtained in infancy and its relationship to fNIRS responses obtained at 7 years of age .

In her other research, Dr. Kable has studied the vascular health of adults who were recruited while in utero as a result of their prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and has utilized functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify differences in hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex during inhibition tasks in children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) as compared to children who were typically developing or had neurobehavioral problems with no PAE. Dr. Kable has also participated in a randomized clinical trial of a nutritional intervention carried out among women who used alcohol during pregnancy. She has also been a co-investigator on multiple prospective studies on the impact of prenatal exposures of substances of abuse.

Dr. Kable has assisted with the development of innovative interventions for children with FASDs and carrying out the clinical trials to evaluate the interventions, including interventions focusing on improving math skills, self-regulation and adaptive living skill. She has also been a advocate for children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and has served on various national and local panels to improve the recognition, diagnosis, and access to services for individuals negatively impacted by PAE.

Dr. Kable has received several awards for her teaching and mentoring efforts, including the Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Child Psychiatry Teacher Appreciation Award 2014, the Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Child Psychiatry Outstanding Service Award 2017 (for teaching psychiatry fellows), the Emory School of Medicine Educator Appreciation Day Honoree 2019, and the Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Faculty Teaching Award 2019. Most recently in 2022, she was given the Emory Women of Excellence Award-Award for Mentorship, presented by the Center for Women at Emory and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

In addition to her research, Dr. Kable is a pediatric psychologists who provides care to children with a history of prenatal alcohol and drug exposure in the Division of Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Services, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Emory Neurodevelopment and Exposure Clinic (ENEC). This Clinic is the only multidisciplinary clinic in the Southeastern United States providing specialized services to individuals prenatally exposed to drugs and alcohol.