Kritika Nayar, 6th-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology program, defended her dissertation, the culmination of her PhD program. Kritika’s dissertation focused on understanding visual perception and attention in individuals with ASD and their parents. The way in which one perceives their visual world (or, visual perception) and what one pays attention to in their surroundings, are critical to uncovering underlying thoughts and cognitions, and impact how one operates in the social world. Individuals with ASD demonstrate atypicalities in both perception and attention compared to controls, which have been shown to relate to symptoms of the disorder. Kritika’s dissertation examined both eye-tracking and neural underpinnings of visual perception and attention in individuals with ASD and parents, showing similar eye movement patterns emerging in family members. Some patterns of differences were also reflected in their brain responses, but evidence was less clear. Results from her dissertation suggest a potential genetic influence on visual perception and attention in ASD and help to further understand existing theories that relate to the etiology of ASD symptoms. The methodologies applied to her work will also help to inform future studies of vision and cognitive science more broadly. Kritika is currently completing her final year of her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, where she serves the role of a pediatric neuropsychology intern at the Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She is excited to continue her research in understanding the neuropsychological and neural basis of ASD, while also expanding her skills as a budding pediatric neuropsychologist working with patients with complex medical and neurological conditions. Kritika is looking forward to completing her post-doctoral fellowship following graduation in 2021! Congrats Kritika, we are so proud of you!