Our Goals

The primary objective of our lab is to explore the language, cognitive, motor, and social characteristics of women who carry the FMR1 premutation. We take a family-centered approach, focusing on mothers while also learning about their children to gain insight into developmental patterns across generations. More broadly, our lab has expertise in neurodevelopmental conditions associated with fragile X syndrome, including autism.

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Our Team

Led by Dr. Jessica Klusek, our lab includes an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate research assistants pursuing careers in speech-language pathology, genetic counseling, psychology, linguistics, medicine, and public health. We welcome inquiries from prospective undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students, as well as postdoctoral fellows interested in joining our team. For more details, please visit our Students tab.

Our Lab

Our research facilities are housed within the Montgomery Speech and Hearing Clinic on the University of South Carolina campus, located at 1705 College Street. Visitors parking is available in the Close-Hipp parking garage on Henderson Street. We are conveniently located within walking distance to Columbia’s Five Points district, home to a number of local restaurants and shops.

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Ongoing Research Support

  • – Translation of the FMR1 Premutation Phenotypes Across the Lifespan, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and the National Institute of Mental Health. P50HD118708, 2025 – 2030.
    • – Dr. Klusek’s project seeks to determine FXTAS symptom progression in women with the FMR1 premutation. Drs. Roberts and Hogan aim to investigate early social communication indicators in preschoolers.
    • – PI: Jessica Klusek, Jane Roberts, Abigail Hogan
  • – Aging Symptom Trajectories in Mother Carriers of the FMR1 Premutation, National Institute on Aging. 1R01AG073374-01A1, 2022 – 2027.
    • – This project seeks to determine the stability of core FMR1 premutation symptoms across middle adulthood and early old age.
    • – PI: Jessica Klusek
  • – Language Development in Fragile X Syndrome, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 2R01HD024346-24, 2018 – 2023.
    • – The purpose of this study is to continue longitudinal investigation in males with fragile X syndrome into adulthood and to begin tracking the trajectories of females with fragile X syndrome. The focus is on language development within the framework of an examination of the transition from high school into adulthood.
    • – PI: Len Abbeduto
    • – Co-Investigator: Jessica Klusek
  • – Defining the Language Phenotype of the FMR1 Premutation, National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders. 1R21DC017804-01, 2019 – 2023.
    • – This project describes oral and written language features associated with the FMR1 premutation, in comparison to language features of the broad autism phenotype.
    • – PI: Jessica Klusek
  • – The FMR1 Premutation Genotype and Age-Related Cognitive-Linguistic Decline – Administrative Supplement, National Institute on Aging. 3R21DC017804-02S1, 2020 – 2023.
    • – This project examines the FMR1 premutation genotype as a factor associated with age-related cognitive-linguistic decline.
    • – PI: Jessica Klusek
  • – Autonomic and Sensory Dysfunction in FMR1 Conditions, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 1R01HD106652-01A1, 2022 – 2027.
    • – This proposal seeks to delineate age-related cognitive profiles in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder.
    • – PI: Jane Roberts
    • – Co-investigator: Jessica Klusek