2025 ANNUAL REPORT / OUR DONORS: MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT 51
exemplary mentorship both inside and outside the classroom.
For Hou, a former school psychologist who went on to earn a doctorate in Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, she’ s simply“ paying it forward.”
“ Supportive mentors who embraced my cultural background and recognized my potential were critical to my success. I know how transformative good mentorship can be,” she said.“ Through structured, inclusive and evidence-based mentoring, I help students build research proficiency, leadership skills and commitment to addressing health disparities.
“ Supporting their growth is one of the most rewarding parts of my work.”
Hou researches neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic rare disease affecting about one in 3,000 people worldwide that is usually diagnosed in childhood. She first learned about the disease while a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, and it deepened her interest in understanding how unpredictable diseases affect individuals and their families.
NF1 causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body, including the brain and spinal cord, and is characterized by changes in skin pigmentation. Complications can be life-limiting as well as shortening the life span by eight to 15 years, and there is no cure. Treatment consists primarily of managing the symptoms, which can cause trouble with learning, cognition, and behavior, heart and blood vessel conditions, vision loss and pain.
In her letter nominating Hou for the college’ s Junior Faculty Researcher award, Professor Heather Flynn, Ph. D., her department chair wrote,“ Dr. Hou’ s research is trailblazing in its application of advanced quantitative methods to explore the neurobehavioral impact of NF1 throughout the various life stages.”
One of Hou’ s projects, funded by the Department of Defense( DoD),“ is especially groundbreaking,” Flynn said,“ as it establishes the first comprehensive neuropsychological dataset for children and adolescents with NF1. Collaborating with 12 top researchers from around the world, Dr. Hou has tackled the common problem of sample sizes in rare disease research.”
The dataset the team created enables detailed analyses of neurobehavioral changes with age, identification of distinct subgroups and their observable traits, and insights into how cognitive, academic, socioemotional and behavioral functions are interrelated in NF1.
Hou’ s SMART-NF1 project, funded by an FSU Council on Research and Creativity Seed Grant and the Florida Institute for Pediatric Rare Diseases, uses smartphone and wearable technology to capture real-time cognitive and emotional functioning and daily activities in adolescents with NF1.
Hou also directs two major studies on cognitive aging in adults with NF1, funded by the Children’ s Tumor Foundation and the DoD, creating the first comprehensive datasets to identify both risk and
Photo: FSU College of Medicine Dean Alma Littles, M. D., poses for a celebratory photo with Assistant Professor Yang Hou, Ph. D., after Hou was named College of Medicine Outstanding Junior Researcher for academic year 2023-2024.