Dr. Pichard has focused her career on patients with rare disorders and complex medical needs. Prior to joining the International Rett Syndrome (IRSF), Dr. Pichard held a joint appointment in the Pediatric Oncology Branch and the Dermatology Branch at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she worked as a clinical investigator. In addition to caring for patients with complex medical needs, her research focused on identifying new treatments and improving clinical trial design for rare diseases. She was a member of the Director’s Council and co-Chaired the Cutaneous Neurofibroma group of Response Evaluation in Neurofibromatosis and Schwannomatosis (REiNS), an international effort to develop standardized outcome measures and trial design for clinical trials. Dr. Pichard received her Doctor of Medicine from Georgetown University. She was in a combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency at the University of Minnesota followed by a Dermatology Residency at Georgetown University. She then completed a Clinical Research Fellowship at the NIH. 

As the parent of a daughter with Rett syndrome, Dr. Pichard brings a unique passion to her role as Chief Science Officer and is committed to identifying research breakthroughs that lead to treatments and ultimately a cure for Rett syndrome. She serves as CSO so that one day our children can do more and struggle less with the challenges of Rett syndrome.