Understanding and Treating Externalizing Disorders The Effects of Genetics and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

would not be writing this now, if it weren't for the gentle nudging of Ken Warren and
Faye Calhoun, encouraging me to finish what I started almost 30 years ago. Faye - Charley had
to take away some paint cans and brushes...someone else will have to paint the Sistine Chapel,
but the dang door is finally painted! Thank you for seeing my potential, and for encouraging me
and keeping after me all these years. And if not for TK Li, I would never have been engaged in
helping people with prenatal alcohol exposure. He and Tatiana organized a meeting of a few key
fetal alcohol syndrome investigators at Indiana back in 2002. TK had to "encourage" some of
them to share their data ahead of time, to demonstrate the power of pooling data, and the
Collaborative Initiative on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (CIFASD) was born. Then despite
Tatiana's objections to TK that she knew nothing about 3D cameras, the next thing I knew, I was
taking 3D images of kids as part of CIFASD, meeting them in person, interacting with them, and
seeing their struggles. The desire to help these kids was born, and I hope to be able to continue
with this work for many years to come. TK has been a mentor to me for the small things as well
("what do all those digits in your p-value really tell you?"). He always asked me questions as
though I was an acclaimed statistician, and talked to me in the same way that he talked to a
Department Chair or the University President. He is a perfect example of someone who gave
respect but also commanded it by simple virtue of his words and actions.
There have been many people who sacrificed their time and resources to help me grow
academically. I especially thank you David Kareken, for welcoming me into your lab as one of
your own. You undertook the responsibility to personally teach me about imaging, methods, data
processing, data analyses, respecting participants, and being a thorough researcher overall.
Despite Mario's help and enthusiasm, I didn't have the passion for that area of research (I
apologize), and while I miss the daily shots of hilarious Davidisms, I'm glad I still get to enjoy
them once in a while through the ARC. There are many other people who given their time to help
me both personally and academically - Sean O'Connor, Marty Plawecki, Ben Boukai, Arpana
Agrawal, Danielle Dick, Jessica Salvatore... You have helped define me academically in addition
to improving me as a person. I'm extremely grateful to you for caring about me.