Speaker
Dr. Jessica Hamilton
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, Rutgers University
Biography
Dr. Hamilton is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. 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.