B.A. (Soc Sc.), Grad.Dip. (Adol & Child Psych), Grad.Cert. (App Sci), DPsych (Clin Neurosych)

Email:    Annette.Dacosta@rch.org.au

Phone:  9345 5390

Special Interests

• Neuropsychological features of craniofacial anomalies
• Paediatric Neuropsychological disorders

Education

Certification

Hospital Appointments

Societies

Research projects

Recent publications and research activities

Publication History

• Downer SR, Meara JG, Da Costa AC & Sethuraman K.  SMS text messaging improves
  outpatient attendance.  Accepted for publication in Australian Health Review (04/06/2006). 
• Da Costa, AC, Walters I, Savarirayan R, Anderson VA, Wrennall J & Meara JG.  (2006) Intellectual outcomes in children and adolescents with syndromic and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis.  Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; 118 (1): 175-181.
• Downer, SR, Meara, JG & Da Costa, AC (2005).  Use of SMS text messaging to improve
  outpatient attendance.  The Medical Journal of Australia, 183 (7) 366-368.
• Da Costa, AC, Savarirayan, R., Wrennall, J., Gardiner, N., Tucker A., Anderson, V., Wrennall, J & Meara, JG.  (2005).  Neuropsychological diversity in Aperts syndrome:  A comparison of cognitive profiles in children and adolescents with syndromic and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis.  Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 54(4), 450-455.
  Finch C., Da Costa A., Stevenson M., Hamer P & Elliot B. (2002).  Sports injury experiences
  from the Western Australian Sports Injury Cohort Study.  Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 26(5), 462-467.

Manuscripts under review

• Da Costa AC, Wrennall JA, Walters I, Anderson VA, Savarirayan R, Meara JG. Neuropsychological functioning in children and adolescents with syndromic and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis.  Submitted to Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society,
• Knight S, Anderson VA, Da Costa AC & Meara JG.  Neurodevelopmental functioning in infants
   with deformational plagiocephaly.  Manuscript submitted to Paediatrics.

Published Abstracts/ Conference Presentations

• Da Costa AC, Anderson VA, Holmes ADH, Chong DK & Greensmith AL.  Craniosynostosis:  Neuropsychological outcomes during late infancy and early childhood following surgical  intervention.  Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Brain Impairment Conference of the  Australian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment, September 7-9, Syndey, Australia.
• Knight, S, Anderson, VA, Bialocerkowski, A, Chong, DK, Savarirayan, R, Greensmith, AL, Reilly, SR & Da Costa, AC.  Neurodevelopment, genotype and cranial morphology in  infants with isolated craniosynostosis.  Paper presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the  American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association & Pre-Conference Symposia, April 20- 25, 2009, Scottsdale, Arizona.
• Da Costa, AC.  Pre- and post-natal skull growth deformities: Neuropsychological implications  from infancy to adolescence.  Paper presented at the 2nd Biennial decog Conference:  Clinical and Research Perspectives in Developmental Neuropsychology, March 28-29,  2008, Sydney, Australia.
• Da Costa, AC. Developmental issues in craniosynostosis.  Paper presented at the Cleft & Cranio- Maxillofacial Anomalies Conference, Melbourne, Australia, September 20-23, 2007. 
• Wilson, N., McLean, L., Da Costa, AC. & Kilpatrick, N. 2007. Identifying resilience factors  associated with psychological adjustment in young adults with cleft lip and/or palate.  Paper presented at the Cleft & Cranio-Maxillofacial Anomalies Conference, Melbourne  Australia, September 20-23.
• Zervos, A., McLean, L., Da Costa, AC. & Kilpatrick, N. (2007). What about school? Parental  adjustment to school commencement of children with cleft lip and/or palate. Paper  presented at the Cleft & Cranio Maxillofacial Anomalies Conference, Melbourne  Australia, September 20-23.
• Da Costa AC.  Developmental implications of single-suture synostosis: Patient Audit 2003-2005.  Paper presented at the 4th Bi-annual Conference of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Cranio-maxillofacial Surgeons, Queenstown, New Zealand, September 25-27.
• Da Costa, AC, Meara, JG, Walters, IW, Wrennall, J & Savarirayan, R.  Neuropsychological profiles of children and adolescents with syndromic and nonsyndromic craniosynostosis.  Paper presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Cleft-Palate Craniofacial Association.  Vancouver, BC, April 3-8, 2006.
• Da Costa, AC, Meara, JG, Wrennall, J & Savarirayan, R.  Neurodevelopmental functioning in infants with single-suture craniosynostosis.    Paper presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Cleft-Palate Craniofacial Association.  Vancouver, BC, April 3-8, 2006.
• Da Costa, AC, Meara JG, Wrennall, I & Savarirayan, R.  Neurodevelopmental functioning in infants with craniofacial disorders.  Paper presented at the 34th Annual INS Meeting.  Boston, Massachusetts, USA, February 1-4, 2006.
• Da Costa, AC, Meara JG, Wrennall, I & Savarirayan, R.  Neurodevelopmental functioning in infants with craniofacial disorders.  Paper presented at the College of Clinical Neuropsychologists Annual Conference.  Melbourne, Australia. November 24-26, 2005.
• Da Costa AC, Meara JG, Wrennall J, Holmes AH.  Developmental outcomes in children and adolescents with craniosynostosis.  Paper presented at the International Society of Craniofacial Surgeons XIth International Congress.  Coolum, Queensland, Australia, September 11-14, 2005.
• Da Costa, AC. Information processing biases in Anorexia nervosa.  Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Oct 1998, Victoria, Australia.
• Da Costa, AC. Craniofacial Anomalies in Children: A neuropsychological study.  Paper presented at the College of Clinical Neuropsychologists Student Research Day Sept 2003, Victoria, Australia.
• Da Costa AC, Meara, JG, Savarirayan, R, Walters, I., Wrennall, JA.   Craniofacial anomalies in children: A neuropsychological study. Australian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment & International Neuropsychological Society. Brisbane, Australia, July 2004

Guest Speaker

• Da Costa AC.  Long-term developmental outcomes in nonsyndromic craniosynostosis.  The  Children's Dentofacial Study Group.  October 2008, The University of Melbourne,  Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
• Da Costa, AC.  Developmental implications of craniosynostosis.  October 2006.  Genetic Health  Services Victoria, The Royal Children's Hospital. 

Guest Lecturer

• The University of Melbourne Postgraduate Doctoral Training Program 2006, 2008
• La Trobe University Postgraduate Doctoral Training April 2007, May 2009

Research Support/ Prizes Awarded

• 2008 -- Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychology Studies    $25,000
  Infra-structure support for Research Assistant
• 2007 Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychology Studies    $25,000
  Da Costa AC, Reilly SR & Morgan, A.  Neuropsychological, speech and language phenotypes of  children with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/ or palate
• 2006 -- National Health and Medical Research Council               $164,400
  Health Professional Research Fellowship (4 years duration)
  Brain structure, neuropsychological function and genotype in paediatric orofacial clefts
• Best consultant presentation
  Neurodevelopmental functioning in infants with single-suture synostosis.  Paper presented at the 4th Bi-annual Meeting of the Australia & New Zealand Society of Cranio-maxillo-facial Surgeons, Queenstown, New Zealand, 24th-26th September 2006.
• 2005 -- Murdoch Children's Research Institute Project Grant                 $53,000
  Royal Children's Hospital    
  Da Costa A, Bialocerkowski A, Meara J, Savarirayan R, Reilly S.  A sustainable multi-
  disciplinary best practice early intervention care model for the assessment and diagnosis of children with craniosynostosis.
• Uncle Bob's Travelling Scholarship        $8,595
  Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Australia 
• Allied Health and Nursing Research Small Research Grant,     $5,000
  Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital     
  Da Costa AC, Bankier A, White S.  Adaptive living skills in adults with Williams syndrome.
• 2004 -- Allied Health and Nursing Research Seed Grant       $2,500 
  MCRI, Royal Children's Hospital         
  Da Costa A & Bialocerkowski A.  Morphological characteristics of infants with positional skull deformities. 

Reviewer responsibilities

• Manuscript reviewer for Australian Psychologist
• Manuscript reviewer for Journal of Neuropsychology
• Manuscript reviewer for Clinical Genetics
• Manuscript reviewer for Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
• Manuscript reviewer for Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry
• Manuscript reviewer for Advances in Speech Pathology