Geraldine Dawson
William Cleland Distinguished Professor
Geraldine Dawson is the William Cleland Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, where she also is a Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology & Neuroscience. Dawson also is the 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 diagnosed with autism through research, education, clinical services, and policy. She directs the Duke Autism Clinic. 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's work focuses on improving methods for early detection and intervention for autism, understanding brain function in autism, and validation of autism EEG biomarkers. She co-developed the Early Start Denver Model, an empirically-validated early autism intervention that is used worldwide. She collaborates with colleagues in the departments of computer science and engineering, pediatrics, and biostatistics to develop novel digital health approaches to autism screening and outcome monitoring.
Dawson previously served as Director of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, 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 is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She 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, 2020); 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 International Society for Autism Research, the American Psychological Society, and the American Psychological Association, and is an Associate Editor on editorial boards of four scientific journals.
Appointments and Affiliations
- William Cleland Distinguished Professor
- Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
- Professor in Pediatrics
- Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
- Affiliate, Duke Global Health Institute
- Affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy
Contact Information
- Office Location: 2608 Erwin Road, Suite 300, Duke University Med Center, Durham, NC 27705
- Office Phone: (919) 684-3165
- Email Address: geraldine.dawson@duke.edu
- Websites:
Education
- University of California - Los Angeles, 1980
- Ph.D. University of Washington, 1979
Research Interests
Autism, neuroscienceAwards, Honors, and Distinctions
- Elected. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 2020
- Distinguished Career Award. American Psychological Association. 2019
- Top 1% Most-Cited Researcher Across All Fields. Clarivate Analytics. 2017
- President. International Society for Autism Research. 2015
- James McKeen Cattell Lifetime Achievement Award. Association for Psychological Science. 2012
- Fellow. Association for Psychological Science. 2006
- Fellow. Association for Psychological Science. 2006
Courses Taught
- PSY 203: Practicum
- PSY 393: Research Independent Study
- PSY 394: Research Independent Study
- PSY 493: Research Independent Study
- PSY 494: Research Independent Study
In the News
- A 10-Minute App Can Screen for Autism (Oct 3, 2023 | Pratt School of Engineering)
- Harnessing Electronic Health Record Data for Earlier Autism Detection (Feb 14, 2023 | School of Medicine)
- Duke Scholars Using Internal Seed Grants to Build Foundation for Collaborative Research (Nov 21, 2022 | Duke Interdisciplinary Studies)
- Duke Awarded $12M Research Grant to Use Artificial Intelligence to Detect Autism (Sep 7, 2022 | Duke Health News)
- Study Shows Smartphone App Can Identify Autism Symptoms in Toddlers (May 5, 2021 | Duke Health News)
- Using Data Science for Early Detection of Autism (Apr 2, 2021 | Duke Research Blog)
- Check This Out! Autism screening app for babies (Nov 29, 2020)
- Children With Autism, ADHD Have More Doctor and Hospital Visits During Infancy (Oct 19, 2020 | Duke Health News)
- Cord Blood Study Provides Insights on Benefits, Limitations for Autism Treatment (May 19, 2020 | Duke Health News)
- Price, Kornbluth and Six Senior Faculty Join American Academy of Arts & Sciences (Apr 23, 2020)
- Brain Science Seed Grants Lay Foundation for Large Competitive Grants (Mar 31, 2020 | Duke Institute for Brain Sciences)
- Harnessing the Power of Machine Learning for Earlier Autism Diagnosis (Dec 9, 2019 | School of Medicine)
- Global List of Highly Cited Puts Duke in Top Ten (Nov 19, 2019)
- Speeding Autism Diagnosis, Improving Outcomes Using Machine Learning (Jul 16, 2019)
- Geri Dawson Named Director of Duke Institute for Brain Sciences (Jun 6, 2019)
- Challenging the Way People Think about ‘Normal’ (Apr 18, 2019)
- Duke Faculty Plentiful On ‘Highly Cited’ List (Nov 27, 2018)
- Mobile App for Autism Screening Yields Useful Data (Jun 1, 2018)
- Duke Launches Marcus Center for Cellular Cures to Tackle Autism, MS, Stroke (May 9, 2018 | Duke School of Medicine)
- Geraldine Dawson Attends Global Autism Event at UN (Apr 9, 2018 | Duke Institute for Brain Sciences)
- Duke Receives $12.5 Million to Study Children With Autism and ADHD (Sep 7, 2017 | Duke Health News)
- New Hope for Autism - Geraldine Dawson (Jun 20, 2016)
- Dr. Geraldine Dawson: Should all babies be screened for autism? (Feb 17, 2016 | TIME)
- Geraldine Dawson comments: The Israeli army unit that recruits teens with autism (Jan 8, 2016 | The Atlantic)
- Duke Launches Autism Research App (Oct 14, 2015)
- Raleigh parents find comfort in Duke care for autistic son (Aug 21, 2015 | WTVD)
- Duke Joins Partnership in NIH-Funded Study of Autism Biomarkers in Children (Jul 20, 2015)
- Geraldine Dawson comments: Guinea pigs are autistic child’s best friend (Jun 30, 2015 | The New York Times)
- Allen Song Named Interim Director of Brain Institute (Jun 26, 2015)
- Music Therapy Program Helps Kids With Autism Socialize (Mar 30, 2015 | Techie News)
- Chasing the Next Autism Breakthrough (Mar 18, 2015 | Duke Magazine)
Representative Publications
- Gu, Z; Dawson, G; Engelhard, M, Sex differences in the age of childhood autism diagnosis and the impact of co-occurring conditions., Autism Res (2023) [10.1002/aur.3043] [abs].
- Herkert, D; Sullivan, C; Zhu, Y; Dawson, G, Prevalence and nature of prior developmental and medical concerns in toddlers who screen positive for autism in primary care., Autism, vol 27 no. 8 (2023), pp. 2361-2371 [10.1177/13623613231162146] [abs].
- Yuan, A; Sabatos-DeVito, M; Bey, AL; Major, S; Carpenter, KL; Franz, L; Howard, J; Vermeer, S; Simmons, R; Troy, J; Dawson, G, Automated movement tracking of young autistic children during free play is correlated with clinical features associated with autism., Autism, vol 27 no. 8 (2023), pp. 2530-2541 [10.1177/13623613231169546] [abs].
- Shic, F; Barney, EC; Naples, AJ; Dommer, KJ; Chang, SA; Li, B; McAllister, T; Atyabi, A; Wang, Q; Bernier, R; Dawson, G; Dziura, J; Faja, S; Jeste, SS; Murias, M; Johnson, SP; Sabatos-DeVito, M; Helleman, G; Senturk, D; Sugar, CA; Webb, SJ; McPartland, JC; Chawarska, K; Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials,, The Selective Social Attention task in children with autism spectrum disorder: Results from the Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT) feasibility study., Autism Res, vol 16 no. 11 (2023), pp. 2150-2159 [10.1002/aur.3026] [abs].
- Howard, J; Herold, B; Major, S; Leahy, C; Ramseur, K; Franz, L; Deaver, M; Vermeer, S; Carpenter, KL; Murias, M; Huang, WA; Dawson, G, Associations between executive function and attention abilities and language and social communication skills in young autistic children., Autism, vol 27 no. 7 (2023), pp. 2135-2144 [10.1177/13623613231154310] [abs].