MarcyEdmond490: New new entry

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{{Short description|Psychiatrist}}
{{Undisclosed paid|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Valsamma Eapen
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| birth_place = [[Kerala|Kerala, India]]
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| alma_mater = T.D Medical College Alleppey<br />[[University of London]]
| occupation = Psychiatrist
| years_active =
| known_for = Developing the Quality of Life in Autism (QoLA) scale
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'''Valsamma Eapen''' is a chair of infant, [[child and adolescent psychiatry]] at [[University of New South Wales|UNSW Sydney]]. She is a fellow of the [[Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists]], and the [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]], UK.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Professor Valsamma Eapen|url=https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/professor-valsamma-eapen|access-date=2021-03-07|website=research.unsw.edu.au|language=en}}</ref>

== Education ==
Eapen was born in [[Kerala|Kerala, India]] and completed her secondary education in [[Thiruvananthapuram|Trivandrum]]. After graduating in medicine from T.D Medical College Alleppey, she trained at the [[National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences]] in [[Bangalore]], India, and in the UK, through the [[University College Hospital]] and North London Teaching Hospitals rotational training scheme and advanced training through the [[Great Ormond Street Hospital]] for Sick Children and Institute Of Child Health. She undertook her PhD at the [[University of London]], with research carried out at the [[National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery]], [[Queen Square, London]] on the genetics of [[Tourette syndrome]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dr. Valsamma Eapen - Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences - HMA|url=http://hmaward.org.ae/profile.php?id=256|access-date=2021-03-07|website=hmaward.org.ae}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=unsw.edu.au|url=https://med.unsw.edu.au/our-people/valsamma-eapen}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist - Valsamma Eapen|url=https://developmentalpaediatrics.com.au/team/valsamma-eapen/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Developmental Paediatrics|language=en-AU}}</ref>

== Research and career ==
Her academic career began at the University College London and she then moved to [[United Arab Emirates University]] before taking up her current appointment as professor and chair of infant, child and adolescent psychiatry at [[University of New South Wales|UNSW Sydney]] and as clinical academic and head of the academic unit of child psychiatry at South West Sydney Local Health District.<ref>{{Cite web|title=College of Medicine and Health Science|url=http://cmhsweb.uaeu.ac.ae/fmtimes.asp?e=699|access-date=2021-03-07|website=cmhsweb.uaeu.ac.ae}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Valsamma Eapen - Autism Research Australasia|url=http://www.autismresearch.org.au/new-south-wales/valsamma-eapen|access-date=2021-03-07|website=www.autismresearch.org.au}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

As a clinician researcher, she has translated research findings into practice and policy applications such as developing [[Service delivery framework|service delivery frameworks]] for early identification of developmental problems in preschool children including the Watch Me Grow webapp.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The App that helps all kids get the best start {{!}} Maridulu Budyari Gumal|url=https://www.thesphere.com.au/news/the-app-that-helps-all-kids-get-the-best-start|access-date=2021-03-07|website=www.thesphere.com.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=SWSLHD Liverpool Hospital - Watch Me Grow|url=https://www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/liverpool/wmg/principalinvestigators.html|access-date=2021-03-07|website=www.swslhd.health.nsw.gov.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Eapen |first1=Valsamma |last2=Woolfenden |first2=Susan |last3=Williams |first3=Katrina |last4=Jalaludin |first4=Bin |last5=Dissanayake |first5=Cheryl |author-link5=Cheryl Dissanayake |last6=Axelsson |first6=Emma L |last7=Murphy |first7=Elisabeth |last8=Eastwood |first8=John |last9=Descallar |first9=Joseph |last10=Beasley |first10=Deborah |last11=Črnčec |first11=Rudi |year=2014 |title="Are you available for the next 18 months?" - methods and aims of a longitudinal birth cohort study investigating a universal developmental surveillance program: the 'Watch Me Grow' study |url= |journal=BMC Pediatrics |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=234 |doi=10.1186/1471-2431-14-234 |issn=1471-2431 |pmc=4190387 |pmid=25241772 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Woolfenden|first1=Susan|last2=Eapen|first2=Valsamma|last3=Axelsson|first3=Emma|last4=Hendry|first4=Alexandra|last5=Jalaludin|first5=Bin|last6=Dissanayake|first6=Cheryl|last7=Overs|first7=Bronwyn|last8=Descallar|first8=Joseph|last9=Eastwood|first9=John|last10=Einfeld|first10=Stewart|last11=Silove|first11=Natalie|date=2016-03-24|title=Who is our cohort: recruitment, representativeness, baseline risk and retention in the "Watch Me Grow" study?|url= |journal=BMC Pediatrics|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|page=46|doi=10.1186/s12887-016-0582-1|issn=1471-2431|pmc=4806415|pmid=27013220 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Further, her team examined the pivotal role of [[oxytocin]] in attachment, separation anxiety and child development, offering translational opportunities for identifying women at risk in the antenatal period to improve intergenerational outcomes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Welcome to our 2020 Research Excellence Awards|url=https://inghaminstitute.org.au/2020awardslivestream/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research|language=en-US}}</ref>

Her research has included genetic, epidemiological, and phenomenological studies as well as clinical interventions in Tourette syndrome. Further, she has contributed significantly to research in [[Autism spectrum|autism spectrum disorders]], building evidence base on early intervention and leading the autism subtyping program in collaboration with the Autism Co-operative Research Centre (Autism CRC). A world first research through the NSW ASELCC in [[Liverpool]] – where Eapen is the research lead – showed the benefits of the [[Early Start Denver Model]] in reducing maladaptive behaviours in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eapen|first1=Valsamma|last2=Črnčec|first2=Rudi|last3=Walter|first3=Amelia|date=2013-01-07|title=Clinical outcomes of an early intervention program for preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in a community group setting|url= |journal=BMC Pediatrics|volume=13|issue=1|page=3|doi=10.1186/1471-2431-13-3|issn=1471-2431|pmc=3631131|pmid=23294523 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=autismcrc.com.au|url=https://www.autismcrc.com.au/sites/default/files/inline-files/Transition%20to%20school%20from%20ASELCCs%20-%20Executive%20summary.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=ResearchGate|url= |journal=Frontiers in Pediatrics|year=2014|language=en|doi=10.3389/fped.2014.00040|pmc=4023017|pmid=24847474|last1=Fulton|first1=E.|last2=Eapen|first2=V.|last3=Crnčec|first3=R.|last4=Walter|first4=A.|last5=Rogers|first5=S.|volume=2|page=40|doi-access= free}}</ref>

Eapen was part of a four-member executive team that developed the National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders through the Autism CRC in collaboration with the National Disability Insurance Agency and endorsed by the [[National Health and Medical Research Council]] (NHMRC).<ref>{{Cite web|title=thepaediatricnurse|url=https://www.thepaediatricnurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Autism-Guidelines-2018.pdf}}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Launched November 2017, this is being utilised across Australia and adopted by the NDIS.

Eapen has developed the Quality of Life in Autism (QoLA) scale, which has been adopted for use by more than 73 teams across 25 countries and translated into several different languages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eapen|first1=Valsamma|last2=Crnčec|first2=Rudi|last3=Walter|first3=Amelia|last4=Tay|first4=Kwok Ping|date=2014|title=Conceptualisation and development of a quality of life measure for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder|journal=Autism Research and Treatment|volume=2014|article-number=160783|doi=10.1155/2014/160783|issn=2090-1925|pmc=3977417|pmid=24778873|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The Watch Me Grow study, funded through an NHMRC Partnership grant with NSW Health, involved a 2000-strong birth cohort study that examined the modifiable risk factors for [[developmental disability]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eapen|first1=Valsamma|last2=Woolfenden|first2=Susan|last3=Williams|first3=Katrina|last4=Jalaludin|first4=Bin|last5=Dissanayake|first5=Cheryl|last6=Axelsson|first6=Emma L.|last7=Murphy|first7=Elisabeth|last8=Eastwood|first8=John|last9=Descallar|first9=Joseph|last10=Beasley|first10=Deborah|last11=Črnčec|first11=Rudi|date=2014-09-22|title="Are you available for the next 18 months?" - methods and aims of a longitudinal birth cohort study investigating a universal developmental surveillance program: the 'Watch Me Grow' study|journal=BMC Pediatrics|volume=14|page=234|doi=10.1186/1471-2431-14-234|issn=1471-2431|pmc=4190387|pmid=25241772 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=nhmrc.gov.au|url=https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/attachments/grant%20documents/Partnership-third-call-2019.pdf}}</ref> This study found evidence of an '[[inverse care law]]', whereby those children at highest risk (e.g. mothers born overseas and of lower educational/income levels) were the least likely to access the surveillance program.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Garg|first1=Pankaj|last2=Ha|first2=My Trinh|last3=Eastwood|first3=John|last4=Harvey|first4=Susan|last5=Woolfenden|first5=Sue|last6=Murphy|first6=Elisabeth|last7=Dissanayake|first7=Cheryl|last8=Jalaludin|first8=Bin|last9=Williams|first9=Katrina|last10=McKenzie|first10=Anne|last11=Einfeld|first11=Stewart|title=Explaining culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) parents' access of healthcare services for developmental surveillance and anticipatory guidance: qualitative findings from the 'Watch Me Grow' study|journal=BMC Health Services Research|year=2017|volume=17|issue=1|page=228|doi=10.1186/s12913-017-2143-1|issn=1472-6963|pmc=5361826|pmid=28330490 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

In an effort to address the current inequity in access to developmental services in low resourced environments, Eapen developed the Watch Me Grow Electronic Platform (WMG-E), a webapp for engaging parents in developmental monitoring during opportunistic contacts such as immunisation visits.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kontos|first=Eric|date=2019-05-28|title=Local research leads to a better way to check your child's development|url=https://southwestvoice.com.au/local-research-leads-to-a-better-way-to-check-your-childs-development/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=South West Voice|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Woolfenden|first1=Susan|last2=Eapen|first2=Valsamma|last3=Axelsson|first3=Emma|last4=Hendry|first4=Alexandra|last5=Jalaludin|first5=Bin|last6=Dissanayake|first6=Cheryl|last7=Overs|first7=Bronwyn|last8=Descallar|first8=Joseph|last9=Eastwood|first9=John|last10=Einfeld|first10=Stewart|last11=Silove|first11=Natalie|date=2016-03-24|title=Who is our cohort: recruitment, representativeness, baseline risk and retention in the "Watch Me Grow" study?|url= |journal=BMC Pediatrics|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|page=46|doi=10.1186/s12887-016-0582-1|issn=1471-2431|pmc=4806415|pmid=27013220 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This webapp was developed in collaboration with the [[Random Hacks of Kindness]] community of technologists – a joint initiative between Microsoft, Google, Yahoo!, NASA, and the World Bank. This is currently being disseminated in Australia and overseas to establish a Universal Developmental Surveillance program with equitable access to all pre-school children. It was featured at the [[American Psychiatric Association]] 2019 conference as 'one of three exemplars of innovative global mental health programs'.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ANZCTR - Registration|url=https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=376012&isReview=true|access-date=2021-03-07|website=www.anzctr.org.au}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Research|url=https://karitane.com.au/research|access-date=2021-03-07|website=karitane.com.au}}</ref>

Her book ''Where There is No Child Psychiatrist'' is being used to improve skills for professionals on mental health problems, particularly in developing countries.

== Awards and honors ==
* Fellow of the [[Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists]]
* Fellow of the [[Royal College of Psychiatrists]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-08-12|title=Valsamma Eapen|url=https://www.autismcrc.com.au/about-us/our-people/our-team/valsamma-eapen|access-date=2021-03-07|website=Autism CRC|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Akin-Ojo|first=Isabelle|date=November 2013|title=Where There is No Child Psychiatrist: A Mental Healthcare Manual. By Valsamma Eapen, Philip Graham & Shoba Srinath, RCPsych Publications, 2012, £10.00, pb, 208 pp. {{text|ISBN:}} 9781908020482 | journal=The Psychiatrist | language=en|volume=37|issue=11|pages=375–376 | doi=10.1192/pb.bp.113.044925 | issn=1758-3209 | doi-access=free}}</ref>
* Lady Fairfax AC OBE Distinguished Researcher Award
* Hamdan Award for Original Research Paper Published in Emirates Medical Journal by Hamdan Medical Award in 2004<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dr. Valsamma Eapen - Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences - HMA |url=http://www.hmaward.org.ae/profile.php?id=256 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=www.hmaward.org.ae}}</ref>
* Fellow of the [[Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences]] (2025)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Kassandra |date=2026-01-13 |title=Professor Valsamma Eapen |url=https://aahms.org/fellow/professor-valsamma-eapen/ |access-date=2026-02-07 |website=Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences |language=en-AU}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Eapen is a board director (voluntary) for Karitane Parenting Services. As the medical publicity liaison officer for the Tourette Syndrome Association Australia, she leads the annual Tourette Awareness Week activities.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-07-06|title=Tics, twitches, and Tourette's|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/allinthemind/tics,-twitches,-and-tourettes/9943920|access-date=2021-03-07|website=ABC Radio National|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-10-02|title=Low postpartum oxytocin levels linked to poor mother-daughter bond|url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/02/low-postpartum-oxytocin-levels-linked-to-poor-mother-daughter-bond|access-date=2021-03-07|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

== Selected publications ==
Eapen has written six books and more than 300 journal publications.<ref name=":0" />
* Using whole-exome sequencing to identify inherited causes of autism.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2013-01-23|title=Using Whole-Exome Sequencing to Identify Inherited Causes of Autism|journal=Neuron|language=en|volume=77|issue=2|pages=259–273|doi=10.1016/j.neuron.2012.11.002|issn=0896-6273|doi-access=free|last1=Yu|first1=Timothy W.|last2=Chahrour|first2=Maria H.|last3=Coulter|first3=Michael E.|last4=Jiralerspong|first4=Sarn|last5=Okamura-Ikeda|first5=Kazuko|last6=Ataman|first6=Bulent|last7=Schmitz-Abe|first7=Klaus|last8=Harmin|first8=David A.|last9=Adli|first9=Mazhar|last10=Malik|first10=Athar N.|last11=d'Gama|first11=Alissa M.|last12=Lim|first12=Elaine T.|last13=Sanders|first13=Stephan J.|last14=Mochida|first14=Ganesh H.|last15=Partlow|first15=Jennifer N.|last16=Sunu|first16=Christine M.|last17=Felie|first17=Jillian M.|last18=Rodriguez|first18=Jacqueline|last19=Nasir|first19=Ramzi H.|last20=Ware|first20=Janice|last21=Joseph|first21=Robert M.|last22=Hill|first22=R. Sean|last23=Kwan|first23=Benjamin Y.|last24=Al-Saffar|first24=Muna|last25=Mukaddes|first25=Nahit M.|last26=Hashmi|first26=Asif|last27=Balkhy|first27=Soher|last28=Gascon|first28=Generoso G.|last29=Hisama|first29=Fuki M.|last30=Leclair|first30=Elaine|pmid=23352163|pmc=3694430|display-authors=1}}</ref>
* Genome-wide association study of obsessive-compulsive disorder.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Stewart|first1=S. E.|last2=Yu|first2=D.|last3=Scharf|first3=J. M.|last4=Neale|first4=B. M.|last5=Fagerness|first5=J. A.|last6=Mathews|first6=C. A.|last7=Arnold|first7=P. D.|last8=Evans|first8=P. D.|last9=Gamazon|first9=E. R.|last10=Osiecki|first10=L.|last11=McGrath|first11=L.|date=July 2013|title=Genome-wide association study of obsessive-compulsive disorder|url= |journal=Molecular Psychiatry|language=en|volume=18|issue=7|pages=788–798|doi=10.1038/mp.2012.85|pmid=22889921|pmc=4218751|issn=1476-5578|hdl=1854/LU-4241923|s2cid=15807999|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
* The international prevalence, epidemiology, and clinical phenomenology of Tourette syndrome: a cross-cultural perspective.<ref>{{Cite web|title=apa.org|url=https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-21991-008}}</ref>
* Preschool psychopathology reported by parents in 23 societies: testing the seven-syndrome model of the child behavior checklist for ages 1.5–5.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ivanova|first1=Masha Y.|last2=Achenbach|first2=Thomas M.|last3=Rescorla|first3=Leslie A.|last4=Harder|first4=Valerie S.|last5=Ang|first5=Rebecca P.|last6=Bilenberg|first6=Niels|last7=Bjarnadottir|first7=Gudrun|last8=Capron|first8=Christiane|last9=De Pauw|first9=Sarah S. W.|last10=Dias|first10=Pedro|last11=Dobrean|first11=Anca|date=2010-12-01|title=Preschool Psychopathology Reported by Parents in 23 Societies: Testing the Seven-Syndrome Model of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5–5|journal=Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry|language=en|volume=49|issue=12|pages=1215–1224|doi=10.1016/j.jaac.2010.08.019|pmid=21093771|issn=0890-8567|pmc=4247330}}</ref>
* Evidence for autosomal dominant transmission in Tourette's syndrome.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Eapen|first1=V.|last2=Pauls|first2=D. L.|last3=Robertson|first3=M. M.|date=May 1993|title=Evidence for Autosomal Dominant Transmission in Tourette's Syndrome: United Kingdom Cohort Study|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/abs/evidence-for-autosomal-dominant-transmission-in-tourettes-syndrome/104A8E7156EE69A837071AB0C56C4B0F|journal=The British Journal of Psychiatry|language=en|volume=162|issue=5|pages=593–596|doi=10.1192/bjp.162.5.593|pmid=8149109|s2cid=26062975 |issn=0007-1250|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* International comparisons of behavioral and emotional problems in preschool children: parents' reports from 24 societies.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Rescorla|first1=Leslie A.|last2=Achenbach|first2=Thomas M.|last3=Ivanova|first3=Masha Y.|last4=Harder|first4=Valerie S.|last5=Otten|first5=Laura|last6=Bilenberg|first6=Niels|last7=Bjarnadottir|first7=Gudrun|last8=Capron|first8=Christiane|last9=De Pauw|first9=Sarah S. W.|last10=Dias|first10=Pedro|last11=Dobrean|first11=Anca|date=2011-05-01|title=International Comparisons of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Preschool Children: Parents' Reports From 24 Societies|url= |journal=Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology|language=en|volume=40|issue=3|pages=456–467|doi=10.1080/15374416.2011.563472|issn=1537-4416|pmc=4247339|pmid=21534056|hdl=11655/14529}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
Google Scholar – [https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=fHtumogAAAAJ&hl=en Valasamma Eapen]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eapen, Valsamma}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Child psychiatrists]]
[[Category:Indian psychiatrists]]
[[Category:Indian women medical researchers]]
[[Category:Women psychiatrists]]
[[Category:Autism researchers]]
[[Category:Scholars from Kerala]]
[[Category:Medical doctors from Kerala]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences]]
[[Category:Academics of University College London]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of New South Wales]]

Valsamma Eapen - Revision history

MarcyEdmond490: New new entry