Jamie Edgin

Jamie Edgin is an Associate Professor of Psychology and affiliated Faculty in the Sonoran UCEDD. She is a first-generation college student. For over 20 years she has contributed to research on developmental disorders, conducting studies that cross levels of analysis and incorporate several brain-based methodologies. She has over 60 peer reviewed publications and has a developed a patented system for assessing memory and learning in young children and children with developmental disorders. She merges cognitive and neuroscience approaches to study policy relevant questions, including 1) how do persistent sleep problems impact memory in developmental disorders, and how can we intervene? and 2) how can we better understand eyewitness reports from persons with disability? Dr. Edgin serves on numerous state and national boards for disability advocacy, including the National Down Syndrome Science Advisory Board, the State Criminal Justice working group, and she Co-Chairs the Council for Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness through the Arizona Center for Disability Law. She is the Director of the Disability Policy Fellowship at the Sonoran UCEDD. She has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2013 and received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for her work on sleep. Reflecting her emphasis on community-engaged research, she was awarded the 2018 Koffler Prize for Community Outreach and the 2020 Arizona Psychological Association award for Distinguished Contribution to Research. A recently awarded Udall/Bio5 Policy fellowship will allow her to conduct an analysis of current US policy gaps regarding children's eyewitness testimony in order to guide new research toward understanding the dynamics of those memory reports in children with and without disabilities.