Christy Ling Hom

Associate Clinical Professor, Psychiatry & Human Behavior
School of Medicine

Chief Psychologist
School of Medicine

Down Syndrome, Cognitive Development, Cognitive Reserve, Alzheimer's Disease, Intellectual Disabilities

Dr. Christy Hom is a board certified pediatric neuropsychologist and the Director of Training of the UCI Health Lifespan Neuropsychology practicum. She is the MPI/site PI of multiple NIH-funded research studies including Metabolic Health, Lifestyle, and Risk of Co-occurring Health Conditions in Down Syndrome (MET-DS), the Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers Consortium in Down Syndrome (ABC-DS), and Lifestyle and Alzheimer’s Disease in Down Syndrome study. She is also a co-investigator of the UCI Alzheimer's Disease Research Center's Down Syndrome Core. Dr. Hom’s clinical services include the assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and neurological conditions. Dr. Hom's forensic services include the assessment of individuals with developmental disabilities who have experienced psychological, physical, or medical trauma and the assessment of children and adults who have suffered traumatic brain injuries. Dr. Hom received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in health psychology at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. She was trained in Applied Behavioral Analysis at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University.

Handen, B., Mapstone, M., Hartley, S., Andrews, H., Christian, B., Lee, J. H., Tudorascu, D., Hom, C., Ances, B. M., Zaman, S., Krinsky-McHale, S., Brickman, A. M., Rosas, H. D., Cohen, A. D., Petersen, M., O’Bryant, S., Harp, J. P., Schmitt, F., Ptomey, L., Burns, J., Lott, I. T., Lai, Fl., Silverman, W., Laymon, C., and Head, E. (2025). The Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS): 10-Year Report. Alzheimer’s and Dementia, 21(5):e70294. doi: 10.1002/alz.70294 PMID: 40371686

Jenkins, M., Peven, J. C., Kubic, L., Handen, B. L., Krinsky-McHale, S. J., Hom, C. L., Lee, A., Tudorascu, D. L., McLachlan, M., Zammit, M., Minhas, D., Luo, W., Laymon, C., Lee, J. H., Lott, I., Cohen, A., Ances, B. M., Rosas, H. D., Lai, F., Zaman, S. H., Head, E., Mapstone, M., Christian, B. T., Hartley, S. L., … Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium - Down syndrome (2025). Behavioral and Psychiatric Symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease Progression in Down syndrome. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 17(1), 19. doi: 10.1186/s11689-025-09604-w. PMID: 40217501

Magana-Ramirez, C.M., Gillen, D.L., Hom, C.L., Jaimes, L. Jr, Chilukuri, S.S., McMahon, N., Lin, C., Kuhlman, R., Hu, T., Head, E., Lott, I.T., Sultzer, D.L. (2025). Neuropsychiatric symptoms and emerging dementia in people with Down syndrome and older adults. Alzheimers Dementia, 21(11):e70871. doi: 10.1002/alz.70871

Schworer, E. K., Zammit, M. D., Handen, B. L., Piro-Gambetti, B., Jenkins, M. R., Brothers, C., Okonkwo, O. C., Hom, C. L., Ances, B. M., Christian, B. T., and Hartley, S. L. (2025). Lifestyle composite and resilience to Alzheimer’s disease pathology in Down syndrome. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 38(4), e70109. doi: 10.1111/jar.70109

Ptomey, L., Hom, C., Wilkins, H., Doran, E., Wright, S. T., Hoang, D., Lott, I. T., Puchalt, J. P., Helsel, B., Burns, J., Grill, J., and Head, E. (2025). Alzheimer Disease Research Center Down Syndrome Cores: Experience from two sites. Alzheimer’s and Dementia, 21(8), e70612. doi: 10.1002/alz.70612. PMID: 40847661

Liou J-J, Lou J, Flores-Aguilar L, Nakagira, J., Yong, W., Hom, C.L., Doran, E.W., Totoiu, M.O., Lott, I., Mapstone, M., Keator, D.B., Brickman, A.B., Wright, S.T., Nelson, B., Lai, F., Xicota, L., Dang, L.T., Li, J., Santini, T., Mettenburg, J.M., Ikonomovic, M.D., Kofler, J., Ibrahim, T., Head, E. (2024). A neuropathology case report of a woman with Down syndrome who remained cognitively stable: Implications for resilience to neuropathology. Alzheimer's Dement, e14479. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.14479

Gorjala, P., Aslam, M.M., Dang, L.T., Xicota, M.V.F., Yun, J.S., Fan, K.H., Feingold, E., Surace, E.I., Chhatwal, J.P., Hom, C.L., Hartley, S., Hassenstab, J., Perrin, R.J., Mapstone, M., Zaman, S.H., Ances, B.M., Kamboh, M.I., Lee, J.H., and Cruchaga, C. (2023). Alzheimer's polygenic risk scores are associated with cognitive phenotypes in Down syndrome. Alzheimer's Dementia, 1-12. doi.org/10.1002/alz.13506

Hartley, S.L., Fleming, V., Schworer, E.K., Peven, J., Handen, B.L., Krinsky-McHale, S., Hom, C., Lee, L., Tudorascu, D.L., Laymon, C., Minhas, D., Luo, W,, Cohen A, Zaman S, Ances BM, Mapstone M, Head E, Lai F, Rosas HD, Klunk W, Christian, B.; Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (2023). Timing of Alzheimer's Disease by Intellectual Disability Level in Down Syndrome. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 95(1), 213-225. doi: 10.3233/JAD-230200

Fleming, V., Hom, C.L., Clare, I.C.H. Hurd-Thomas, S., Krinsky-McHale, S., Handen, B., and Hartley, S.L. (2022). Cognitive outcome measures for tracking Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome. International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, 62, 227-263. doi: 10.1016/bs.irrdd.2022.05.006

Hom, C.L., Kirby, K.A., Ricks-Oddie, J., Keator, D.B., Krinsky-McHale, S.J., Pulsifer, M.B., Rosas, H.D., Lai, F., Schupf, N., Lott, I.T., and Silverman, W. (2021). Cognitive function during the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s Disease in Down Syndrome: Comparing Models. Brain Sciences, 11, 1220. https:// doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091220. PMCID: PMC8471085

Hom, C. L., Walsh, D., Fernandez, G., Tournay, A., Touchette, P., and Lott, I.T. (2021). Cognitive assessment using the Rapid Assessment for Developmental Disabilities, Second Edition (RADD-2). Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 65, 831-848. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12863

Hom, C. L., Nguyen, V., Fernandez, G., Touchette, P., Tournay, A., Plon, L, Lott, I. T., and Himber, P. (2015). The Relationship Between Living Arrangement and Adherence to Antiepileptic Medications Among Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, 59, 48-54. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.12123.

Mindora Totoui (PI), Christy Hom (Co-I), and Mark Mapstone (Co-I): Alzheimer’s Disease Blood Biomarkers in Children and Adolescents with Down Syndrome. Supported by Children's Hospital of Orange County Pediatrics Specialty Faculty Research Fund and Neuroscience Fund.

Ben Handen (PI), Bradley Christenson (PI), Elizabeth Head (PI), Mark Mapstone (PI), and Christy Hom (Co-I): The Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium – Down Syndrome (ABC-DS). Supported by National Institutes of Health/ National Institute on Aging - 1U19 AG068054-01.

Sigan Hartley (MPI), Christy Hom (Co-I), Lauren Ptomey (MPI). Lifestyle Risk and Resiliency Factors and Alzheimer’s Disease in Down syndrome. Supported by National Institute on Aging - R01AG070028.

Christy Hom (MPI), Sigan Hartley (MPI), Benjamin Handen (MPI), and Lauren Ptomey (MPI): Metabolic Health, Lifestyle, and Risk of Co-occurring Health Conditions in Down Syndrome. Supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Child Health and Human Development – 1U01HD116477-01.

National Academy of Neuropsychology

American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology

American Psychological Association

Trisomy 21 Research Society

International Neuropsychological Society

Asian Neuropsychology Association

Alzheimer's Association ISTAART

Fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese

Center for Aging Research in Down Syndrome

UCI MIND

Link to this profile
https://faculty.uci.edu/profile/?facultyId=6038

Last updated
07/24/2026