Katie Pulmano

Katie Pulmano grew up in Birmingham, Alabama where they earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Theatre Performance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Katie has experience assisting with and conducting their own research within the field of developmental and clinical psychology, particularly specializing in early detection of and intervention in autism, sex differences in behavioral symptoms of autism, and promotion of language and literacy skills in pre-school aged children. Additionally, Katie has extensive clinical experience as a Patient Care Technician in an inpatient psychiatric facility, a Substance Abuse Professional at a rehabilitation center, a Registered Behavior Technician at an ABA clinic, and as a Clinical Intern and Research Counselor at an intensive outpatient Summer Treatment Program. Throughout these positions, Katie has worked with diverse populations such as adults and adolescents with mental illnesses and/or substance use disorders as well as children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Katie’s research interests are always developing. Inspired by their passion for social justice, their research aims to better understand and support those left underserved and underrepresented in clinical and academic practice: increasing accessibility of treatment, refining parent-based/family-centered interventions, implementing Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions, supporting neurodiverse youth in developing peer relationships, and improving both quality and generalization of care for non-speaking and bilingual children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families.

In the future, Katie hopes to pursue a PsyD or PhD in Clinical Psychology and to continue both clinical and academic work with individuals struggling with substance use and youth with neurodevelopmental disorders.

At FRI, Katie works as a Research Assistant on a NIDA-funded patient preference trial of sublingual versus extended-release buprenorphine telemedicine and pharmacy linkage for individuals re-entering the community from jail.