23179-McNally Keehn, Rebecca

Rebecca McNally Keehn, PhD

Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Phone
317-274-2121
Address
410 West 10th Street
HS 2027
Indianapolis, IN 46202
PubMed:

Bio

Dr. McNally is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is Co-Division Cheif of Developmental Medicine and Associate Director of Health Systems and Policy at the Center for Children's Health Services Research. Dr. McNally also serves as Co-Director of Indiana’s Early Autism Evaluation (EAE) Hub System (https://medicine.iu.edu/pediatrics/specialties/health-services/health-equity-through-autism-research-translation/evaluation-hub), a statewide network of community primary care clinicians trained to provide streamlined diagnostic evaluations for young children, ages 14-48 months, at increased likelihood for autism. The overall objective of Dr. McNally’s research is to develop and evaluate innovative service models that improve equitable access to care for autistic children from minoritized and resource-constrained communities in the US and globally (https://medicine.iu.edu/expertise/indiana-health/access-to-care/autism/research). In line with this goal, her research has focused on advancing models of care coordination, building capacity of primary care clinicians to deliver community-based autism evaluations, deployment of telehealth for autism diagnosis, and building autism health service capacity in global resource-constrained settings, including Kenya. A secondary focus of Dr. McNally’s work is engagement in team science that aims to elucidate etiological mechanisms of autism; her role across diverse projects has been to lead diagnostic phenotyping and translation of outcomes for clinical impact. Dr. McNally’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Indiana Department of Health, and Riley Children’s Foundation. 

Key Publications

Dr. McNally’s complete list of publications can be accessed here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/rebecca.mcnally%20keehn.1/bibliography/public/

 Key publications include:

 1.    Advancing access to early autism diagnosis through training primary care clinicians 

Penner M, McNally Keehn R. Personalized Lifespan Approach to Autism Assessment: A Clinical and System Framework for Developmentally Informed Assessment Across the Life-Course. Autism Research. 2026 Jun 19:e70294.

McNally Keehn, R., Swigonski, N., Enneking, B., Ryan, T, Monahan, P., Martin, A.M., Hamrick, L., Kadlaskar, G., Paxton, A., Ciccarelli, M., Keehn, B. Diagnostic accuracy of primary care clinicians across a statewide system of autism evaluation. Pediatrics, 152(2), e2023061188. PMID: 37461867. 

McNally Keehn, R., Ciccarelli, M., Szczepaniak, D., Tomlin, A., Lock, T., & Swigonski, N. (2020). A statewide tiered system for screening and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Pediatrics, 146(2), e20193876. PMID: 32632023. 

2.    Evidence-based care coordination for children with autism and neurodevelopmental disabilities 

McNally Keehn, R., Enneking, B., Ramaker, M., Goings, M., Yang, Z., Carroll, A., & Ciccarelli, M. (2020). Family-centered care coordination in an interdisciplinary neurodevelopmental evaluation clinic: Outcomes from coordinator and caregiver reports. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 8, 538633. PMID: 33194884; PMCID: PMC7661956. 

McAllister, J. W., McNally Keehn, R., Rodgers, R., & Lock, T. M. (2018). Care coordination using a shared plan of care approach: From model to practice. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 43, 88-96. PMID: 30473161. 

McAllister, J.W., McNally Keehn, R., Rodgers, R. Mpofu, P. B., Monahan, P. O., & Lock, T.M. (2018). Effects of a care coordination intervention with children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 39(6), 471-480. PMID: 29672338. 

3.    Telehealth models of autism diagnosis deployed during COVID-19 

McNally Keehn, R., Enneking, B., Ryan, T., James, C., Tang, Q., Blewitt, A., Tomlin, A., Corona, L., & Wagner., L. (2023). Tele-assessment of young children referred for autism spectrum disorder evaluation during COVID-19: Associations among clinical characteristics and diagnostic outcome. Autism, 27(5), 1362-1376. PMID: 36527227; PMCID: PMC9760512. 

Reisinger, D. L., Hines, E., Raches, C., Tang, Q., James, C., & McNally Keehn, R. (2022). Provider and caregiver satisfaction with telehealth evaluation of autism spectrum disorder in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(12):5099-5113. PMID: 35579789; PMCID: PMC9112250. 

McNally Keehn, R., Enneking, B., James, C., Tang, Q., Rouse, M., Hines, E., Raches, C., & Etling, A. (2021). Telehealth evaluation of pediatric neurodevelopmental disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: Clinician and caregiver perspectives. Journal of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, 43(5), 262-272. PMID: 34954761. 

4.    Clinical phenotyping of children with autism spectrum disorder for translational research 

Kadlaskar G, McNally Keehn R, Rozniarek R, Fujii NP, Keehn B. Tactile hypo-responsivity in autism: Examining potential for diagnostic relevance. JCPP advances. 2026 Jun;6(2):e70039.

Keehn B, Kadlaskar G, & McNally Keehn R. (2023). Elevated and accelerated: locus coeruleus activity and visual search abilities in children with ASD. Cortex. 1:169:118-29. PMID: 37866060; PMCID: PMC10842606. 

Kellerman, A. M., Hassan, M. Z., Abel, E. A., Reilly, M., McNally Keehn, R., & Schwichtenberg, A.J. (2022). Case report series: Autism risk within the context of two chromosome 15 syndromes. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(1):503-513. PMID: 34997429. 

5. Advancing global autism health services for young children. 

Swaminathan M, Kuhite PN, Patel AB, Khan SS, Goel M, McNally Keehn R. Neurodevelopment Beyond Borders: A Qualitative Understanding of Autism Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Across Indian Communities in India and the United States. Global Pediatrics. 2026 Jul 15:100363.

Oyungu E, Keehn B, McHenry MS, Monahan PO, Joseph RM, Yoon SY, Carlucci JG, Saina C, Khaitan A, Baliddawa J, McNally Keehn R. Autism outcomes and neurobehavioural markers in young children born to mothers with HIV in Kenya: a protocol for the Alama project. BMJ open. 2026 Mar;16(3):e109958.

Fauntleroy-Love K, Saina C, Oyungu E, McNally Keehn R, McHenry MS. Leveraging Mobile Health to Bridge Gaps for Children With Disabilities in LMICs. Pediatrics. 2026 Jan 9:e2025071594.

McNally Keehn R, Rispoli M, Saina C, et al. Pepea Pamoja: Applying the ecological validity framework to Co-develop a wellbeing and behavioural training program for caregivers of young children with autism in low-resource settings of Kenya and the United States. Child: Care, Health and Development. 2024;50(4). PMID: 38967420.

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