
Geraldine Dawson is the William Cleland Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, where she also is Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology & Neuroscience. Dawson is the Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences whose mission is to promote interdisciplinary brain science and translate discoveries into solutions for health and society. Dawson also is Director of the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, an NIH Autism Center of Excellence, which is an interdisciplinary research program and clinic, aimed to improve the lives of those with autism through research, education, clinical services, and policy. Dawson is Associate Director of the Marcus Center for Cellular Cures which aims to discover cellular treatments that can improve outcomes and quality of life for individuals with autism. Dawson received a Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington and completed a clinical internship at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute.
Dawson previously served as President of the International Society for Autism Research and was appointed by the US Secretary of Health as a member of the NIH Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) which develops the federal strategic plan for autism research, services, and policy. Dawson was Founding Director of the University of Washington (UW) Autism Center and the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Dawson was awarded the American Psychological Association Distinguished Career Award (Div53); Association for Psychological Science Lifetime Achievement Award; Clarivate Top 1% Cited Researcher Across All Scientific Fields; NIH Top Research Advances of the Year Award (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018); Autism Society of America Award for Research Contributions; Autism Society Medical Professional of the Year; and Autism Society Award for Valuable Service. Dawson is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society and American Psychological Association, and is Associate Editor or on editorial boards of four scientific journals.
Education and Training
- Clinical Internsship with speciality in Developmental Disabilities, Neuropsychiatric Institute, University of California - Los Angeles, 1979 - 1980
- Ph.D., University of Washington, 1979
In the News
- Check This Out! Autism screening app for babiesNovember 29, 2020
- Children With Autism, ADHD Have More Doctor and Hospital Visits During InfancyOctober 19, 2020
- Cord Blood Study Provides Insights on Benefits, Limitations for Autism TreatmentMay 19, 2020
- Price, Kornbluth and Six Senior Faculty Join American Academy of Arts & SciencesApril 23, 2020
- Brain Science Seed Grants Lay Foundation for Large Competitive GrantsMarch 31, 2020
- Harnessing the Power of Machine Learning for Earlier Autism DiagnosisDecember 9, 2019
- Global List of Highly Cited Puts Duke in Top TenNovember 19, 2019
- Speeding Autism Diagnosis, Improving Outcomes Using Machine LearningJuly 16, 2019
- Geri Dawson Named Director of Duke Institute for Brain SciencesJune 6, 2019
- Challenging the Way People Think about ‘Normal’April 18, 2019
- Duke Faculty Plentiful On ‘Highly Cited’ ListNovember 27, 2018
- Mobile App for Autism Screening Yields Useful DataJune 1, 2018
- Duke Launches Marcus Center for Cellular Cures to Tackle Autism, MS, StrokeMay 9, 2018
- Geraldine Dawson Attends Global Autism Event at UNApril 9, 2018
- Duke Receives $12.5 Million to Study Children With Autism and ADHDSeptember 7, 2017
- New Hope for Autism - Geraldine DawsonJune 20, 2016
- Dr. Geraldine Dawson: Should all babies be screened for autism?February 17, 2016
- Geraldine Dawson comments: The Israeli army unit that recruits teens with autismJanuary 8, 2016
- Duke Launches Autism Research AppOctober 14, 2015
- Raleigh parents find comfort in Duke care for autistic sonAugust 21, 2015
- Duke Joins Partnership in NIH-Funded Study of Autism Biomarkers in ChildrenJuly 20, 2015
- Geraldine Dawson comments: Guinea pigs are autistic child’s best friendJune 30, 2015
- Allen Song Named Interim Director of Brain InstituteJune 26, 2015
- Music Therapy Program Helps Kids With Autism SocializeMarch 30, 2015
- Chasing the Next Autism BreakthroughMarch 18, 2015
Selected Grants
- Consortium on Biomarker and Outcome Measures of Social Impairment for Use in Clinical Trials in Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Novel Approaches to Infant Screening for ASD in Pediatric Primary Care
- Scalable Computational Platform For Active Closed-Loop Behavioral Coding in Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Duke CTSA (TL1)
- Co-occurring ADHD in young children with ASD: Precursors, detection, neural signatures, and early treatment
- Digital Behavioral Outcome Measures for Autism
- Marcus Foundation Phase II MSC ASD
- Duke Expanded Access Protocol Proposal for the Cord Blood Association Foundation
- Tailoring treatment targets for early autism intervention in Africa
- Pilot Study to Improve Access to Early Intervention for Autism in Africa
- Building a streamlined birth cohort to study autism risk factors and biomarkers
- 1/5-The Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials
- Scalable Quantitative Video Analysis for Online Phenotyping, Early Screening, and Symptom Monitoring for Autism Spectrum Disorders
- The Role of Sensory Over-Responsivity in the Development of Anxiety in Children With and Without Autism
- Precursors to the development of anxiety disorders in young children with autism spectrum disorder
- ASF Undergraduate Summer Research Award
- A Study to Assess the Janssen Autism Knowledge Engine in Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and in a Normally Developing Cohort
- Networked Cortical Responses to Movement Associated with ASD
- A Phase 0 Study to Preliminarily Assess the Janssen Autism Knowledge Engine in Children and Adults with ASD