Associate Professor Karen E. Waldie

Dr Karen E Waldie is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Research Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Auckland. Her research is in the area of developmental neuropsychology and focuses on the neural bases, and long-term outcomes, of neurodevelopmental disorders. She was born in Victoria, BC, Canada, and received her BSc at the University of Victoria. She received her MSc and PhD (1998) at the University of Calgary and went on to become a research fellow with the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (DMHDS). She became a member of the University of Auckland academic faculty in 2001.

Dr Karen Waldie’s research interests can be broadly categorised into those that rely on acute cross-sectional experimental techniques, and those which rely on data collected from longitudinal studies. Her experimental work combines techniques from cognitive neuroscience (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG)) and clinical neuropsychology. She is currently leading a large fMRI study to determine the neural basis of dyslexia, dyscalculia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Auckland Comorbidity Study).

With regard to longitudinal research, in addition to her work with the DMHDS, she is a Named Investigator for the new national longitudinal study “Growing Up in NZ” (www.growingup.co.nz) and a Principal Investigator for the Auckland Birthweight Collaborative Study. Her involvement with three national longitudinal studies reflects her interest in life-span development as well as the precursors and determinants of neurodevelopmental disorders. She is a member of numerous professional societies and has published over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.