Dr. Jessica M. Schwartzman is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and a core faculty member of the Psychiatry Autism Research Team (PART) at VUMC. Dr. Schwartzman’s program of research focuses on characterizing and treating internalizing disorders in autistic individuals, a vulnerable cohort at elevated risk for depression and suicidality. Dr. Schwartzman completed a BS in Psychobiology at U.C.L.A., graduate research at Stanford University and PhD in Clinical Psychology at Palo Alto University, and clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at VUMC in the autism and lifespan development track. Dr. Schwartzman’s clinical research training at UCLA, Stanford University, and VUMC cultivated an expertise in multimethod, multi-informant assessments, cognitive-behavioral interventions, and randomized controlled trials for depression and suicidality in autistic and other neurodiverse individuals. Her work has been funded by two extramural grants and four internal grants at Stanford and VUMC. Currently, Dr. Schwartzman is the PI of an internal grant (VICTR-54998) that aims to develop and empirically test the efficacy of the first autism-adapted cognitive-behavioral group intervention for depression in autistic adolescents.
