Dr. Hamilton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology (incoming January 2021). Her research focuses on identifying modifiable risk factors for the onset and worsening of adolescent depression and suicidality (i.e., ideation and behavior). Given that depression and suicidality increase during adolescence, Dr. Hamilton’s research applies a developmentally-informed approach to understand the unique factors that impact the development and course of depression and suicidality during this period. Her research centers on three interrelated questions: 1) which adolescents are most at risk?, 2) when are adolescents most at risk and through what malleable processes (e.g., sleep, social stress, rumination)?, and 3) How does technology both impact risk for suicidality and improve our ability to capture (and ultimately modify) these risk processes in real time? Integrating these questions, she is currently the PI on a NIMH-funded career development award (K01) that examines social media and sleep disruption in risk for suicidality among adolescents using an intensive monitoring design. Broadly, Dr. Hamilton’s research aims to harness the power of advancing technology (e.g., smartphone sensing, actigraphy, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), ambulatory psychophysiology) to better identify and detect suicide risk in the real world and in real time to inform prevention and early intervention programs among diverse youth.

Dr. Hamilton received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Temple University in 2017, after completing her clinical internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC). She completed additional T32 postdoctoral training in sleep medicine (funded by NHLBI) in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), including a career development award (K01), loan repayment award (LRP), and predoctoral National Research Service award (F31). She has received national awards and recognition from the American Psychological Association, Society for Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP), and Society for Clinical Psychology. Dr. Hamilton has over 50 publications in top-tier journals, several book chapters, and over a hundred oral and poster presentations at national and international conferences. She is very active in professional service, including as Editor for SSCP’s Clinical Science newsletter and social media communications, serving on three Editorial boards (Journal of Youth and Adolescence; Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Cognitive & Behavioral Practice), and actively reviews for psychology and psychiatry journals across disciplines (e.g., JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Child Development, Psychological Medicine, Sleep Health). Dr. Hamilton also is committed to promoting social justice and equity through her research, teaching, and mentorship, as well as more broadly within the field of clinical psychology and academia.

Dr. Hamilton doesn't not plan to accept graduate students in the upcoming year