Emily Hotez, Ph.D.

Emily Hotez, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor and developmental psychology researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine. She currently serves on the leadership teams of two national autism research networks: The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) and The Autism Transition Research Project (ATRP). In these roles, she prioritizes research that promotes the health, well-being, and thriving of autistic individuals across the life course. She is also a co-lead on the Life Course Translational Research Network (LCTRN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Life Course Intervention Working Group. Dr. Hotez’s life course research lens has spurred an emphasis in her work on strategies that address neurodivergent individuals’ experiences of lifelong stigma and marginalization across interpersonal, educational, and healthcare contexts. Her work in this area includes leading a series of research studies focused on identifying opportunities to enhance both undergraduate and medical education; creating and evaluating self-advocacy-focused interventions for neurodivergent individuals during key developmental transitions; and directing a portfolio of studies utilizing secondary data analysis and longitudinal approaches. Across all of Dr. Hotez’s research, she relies on methodologies that are driven by the individuals, communities, and populations that the research seeks to serve. As a sister of an autistic adult, she is both professionally and personally committed to translation and dissemination efforts to ensure that her research informs practice, policy, and education. Dr. Hotez received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.