Research Summary
Dr Budimirovic has steadily contributed as a child psychiatrist, and main clinician, to the Fragile X Research Program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. His research activities have focused on characterizing social behavior determinants of ASD status in Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) (Budimirovic et al., 2006; Kaufmann et al., 2008). The 2006 paper has been cited 53 times to date, as we generated a model that contributed to the field aimed at identification of the FXS-specific Social Avoidance factor structure. The finding was then validated by a multisite effort using a 10-times larger sample (Sansone et al., 2012), which is of much relevance as the key outcome measure for unfolding targeted treatments in FXS and ASD (Berry-Kravis et al., 2012). The aforementioned findings have also served as the foundation for several competitive applications submitted to NIH RO1 and other funding agencies. The research effort has also resulted in an invited critical review (Budimirovic & Kaufmann, 2011), cited 40 times to date in journals with impact factor above 5 such as Molecular Autism and Cell Reports, and poster presentations at national conferences. Most recently, Dr Budimirovic accomplished a fruitful collaboration with the Section on Cellular Signaling head by Dr. Stojiljkovic at NICHD, NIH, on cellular mechanisms underlying prolactin-related effects of two widely prescribed antipsychotics, which resulted in a publication in Nature Sci. Rep (Kucka et al., 2015).
Next, as the PI, Dr. Budimirovic continues to build up a sampling (FMRP blood draws) effort for a March 2013-present IRB NA_00069920 approved study ‘Genotype-Phenotype: High Resolution FMR1 Genetic and Epigenetic Molecular Assessments in Fragile X Patients.’ The study uses the novel PCR method that precisely quantifies the FMR1 alleles aimed at advancing an understanding of autism in fragile X mutations.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Budimirovic remains active on the FXCRC CTC (database-CDC fund renewed in August of 2015), FXCRC FORWARD Data Interest Group Cognition/Behavior/Sleep (database driven, CDC), FORWARD Data Interest Group Psychopharmacology-Behavior (database driven, CDC).
Clinical Trial Keywords
fragile x; autism spectrum disorder; anxiety; developmental disabilities; mood disorders; ADHD; sleep disorders
Clinical Trials
To date, Dr Budimirovic participated in a total of 28 clinical trials not only in the field of pediatric and adult FXS but also in idiopathic ASD, pediatric depression, anxiety, mood and sleep disorders, pediatric and adult ADHD. Currently, Dr. Budimirovic remains the main Sub-Investigator physician at KKI’s CTU, with variable percentage effort for 12 ongoing clinical trials. In addition, several new clinical trials are expected to be approved soon by JHH IRB.
Selected Publications
Djukanovic, R., Tanurdzic, S., Ljaljevic, M., Ljaljevic, J., & Budimirovic, D.B. (1987). Factors increasing nonspecific reactivity in the bronchial tree in patients with bronchial asthma. Lung Disease, 39(1-2), 25-30. (PMID: 3441551)
Nikolic-Zugic, J., Jovanovic, T., Pravica, V., Budimirovic, D.B., & Lukic, M.L. (1990). Specific Antigen Induced Down Regulation of T Cells Response to Herpes Simplex Virus. Giornale di Malattie Infettive e Parassite 42 (7), 520-523.
Budimirovic, D.B., Levitt, J., & Garshick, E. (2001). A Case of Treatment-Resistant Schizoaffective Disorder-Bipolar Type and Sleep Disordered Breathing. Engram 22 (3-4), 127-152. Serbian.
Budimirovic, D.B., Bukelis, I., Cox, C., Gray, R., Tierney, E., & Kaufmann, W.E. (2006). Autism Spectrum Disorder in Fragile X Syndrome: Differential Contribution of Adaptive Socialization and Social Withdrawal. American Journal of Medical Genetics, 140A (17), 1814-1826. DOI 10.1002/ajmg.a.31405. (PMID: 16906564)
Coffee, B., Ikeda, M., Budimirovic, D.B., Hjelm, L.N., Kaufmann, W.E., & Warren, S.T. (2008). Mosaic FMR1 Deletion Causes Fragile X Syndrome and Can Lead to Molecular Misdiagnosis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, 146A, 1358-1367. DOI 10.1002/ajmg.a.32261. (PMID:18412117)
Kaufmann, W.E., Capone, G., Clarke, M., & Budimirovic, D.B. (2008). Autism in Genetic Intellectual Disability: Insights into Idiopathic Autism. In Zimmerman, A.W. (Ed.), Autism: Current Theories and Evidence (81-108). Totowa, NJ: The Humana Press Inc.
Budimirovic, D.B., & Kaufmann, W.E. (2011). What Can We Learn About Autism from Studying Fragile X Syndrome? Developmental Neuroscience, 33 (5), 379-394. DOI:10.1159/000330213. (PMID: 21893949).
Marschik, P.B., Kaufmann, W.E., Einspieler, C., Bartl-Pokorny, K.D., Wolin, T., Pinid, G., Budimirovic, D.B, Zappella, M., & Sigafoos, J. (2012). Profiling Early Socio-communicative Development in Five Young Girls with the Preserved Speech Variant of Rett Syndrome. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33(6), 1749–1756. DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2012.04.012. (PMID: 22699249).
Marschik, P.B., Sigafoos, J., Kaufmann, W.E., Wolin, T., Talisa, V.B., Bartl-Pokorny, K.D., Budimirovic, D.B, Vollman, R., Einspieler, C. (2012). Peculiarities in the gestural repertoire: An early marker for Rett syndrome? Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33(6), 1715–1721. DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2012.05.014.(PMID: 22699245).
Hinton, R., Budimirovic, D.B., Marschik, P.B., Talisa, V.B., Einspieler, C., Gipson, T., Johnston, M.V. (2013). Parental Reports on Early Language and Motor Milestones in Fragile X Syndrome with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 16(1):58-66. DOI: 10.3109/17518423.2012.704414. (PMID: 23249372).
Lozano, R., Hagerman, R.J., Duyzend, M., Rothfuss, M.,Budimirovic, D.B., Evan, E. E., Tassone, F (2014). Genomic Studies in Fragile X Premutation Carriers. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 6(1):27. DOI:10.1186/1866-1955-6-27. Epub 2014 Jul 30. (PMID: 25170347).
Kucka, M., Tomic, M., Bjelobaba, I., Stojilkovic, S.S., & Budimirovic, D.B. (2015). Paliperidone and aripiprazole differentially affect the strength of calcium-secretion coupling in female pituitary lactotrophs. Nature Sci. Rep. Mar 10;5:8902; DOI:10.1038/srep08902. (PMID: 25754735).
