Judy Van de Water

Professor
University of California, Davis

Judith Van de Water is professor of internal medicine at the University of California, Davis and director of the UC Davis Center for Children’s Environmental Health.

From this contributor

Spectrum

By Judy Van de Water

19 February 2019

4 min read

baby in utero, with placenta and antibodies and molecules

What the placenta could reveal about autism

Understanding the interactions between the placenta and the uterine lining could explain how maternal immune activation leads to autism.

Spectrum

What the placenta could reveal about autism

By Judy Van de Water

19 February 2019 | 4 min read

Spectrum

By Judy Van de Water

7 September 2012

4 min read

Premature ideas

A New York Times opinion column on 25 August suggested that at least some cases of autism could be considered inflammatory disorders. But this theory is still in its infancy.

Spectrum

Premature ideas

By Judy Van de Water

7 September 2012 | 4 min read

Explore more from The Transmitter

This paper changed my life

By Sidarta Ribeiro

14 July 2026

4 min read

Illustration of birdsong, bird brain, and DNA.

This paper changed my life: Embracing an early model for naturalistic neuroscience

A 1992 PNAS paper showed how birdsong upregulates the expression of an immediate early gene in bird forebrains. The work revealed to Ribeiro the importance of studying molecular responses in naturalistic contexts.

This paper changed my life