Mirella Dapretto, Ph.D.

Dr. Mirella Dapretto is Professor of Psychiatry in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Trained as a developmental psychologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Dapretto is an expert in neuroimaging the developing brain—from infancy through adulthood—and in the use of advanced neuroimaging methods to understand the neural underpinnings of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly ASD. Her research combines imaging, genetic, and behavioral data to better characterize both typical and atypical developmental trajectories. Dr. Dapretto has been the recipient of numerous awards from both private foundations (Cure Autism Now, National Alliance for Autism Research, Autism Speaks) and the National Institutes of Health to study the neural basis of the core deficits observed in autism. Within the UCLA Autism Center of Excellence, Dr. Dapretto is currently the principal investigator of the neuroimaging project as well as the co-principal investigator of the study focused on identifying early biomarkers of autism in high-risk infants. Dr. Dapretto serves on the editorial board of the journal Autism Research and has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious scientific journals, such as Neuron, Brain, Nature Neuroscience, JAMA Psychiatry, Psychological Science, and Molecular Psychiatry.