Jennifer L. Hughes, PhD

Jennifer L. Hughes, Ph.D., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor and Licensed Psychologist at the UT Southwestern Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care (CDRC). She is the head of the CDRC Risk and Resilience Network, which aims to build partnerships with local schools and youth community organizations to implement mental health promotion and suicide prevention programs, as well as to work together to better understand resilience and risk in youth. Dr. Hughes is currently on the Executive Board of the American Psychological Association Division 53 Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (SCCAP) and serves as the Chair of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Child and Adolescent Depression Special Interest Group (SIG). Dr. Hughes was previously a psychologist at Children's Health System of Texas, where she worked on the Inpatient Psychiatry Unit and with the Suicide Prevention and Resilience at Children's (SPARC) Intensive Outpatient Program. Prior to working at Children's, Dr. Hughes was a Clinical Instructor and Staff Psychologist in the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the Associate Director of the UCLA Youth Stress and Mood Program. Dr. Hughes received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2010 and completed her pre-doctoral internship through UT Southwestern Medical Center. During her time at UT Southwestern, Dr. Hughes worked closely with two leaders in the area of child depression, Drs. Graham Emslie and Betsy Kennard, on several landmark projects, including the Treatment of Adolescent Suicide Attempters (TASA) study, the Treatment of Adolescents with Depression study (TADS), and the Treatment of Resistant Depression in Adolescents (TORDIA) study. In addition, Dr. Hughes collaborated with Dr. Kennard to develop and test a relapse prevention intervention for youth depression. Dr. Hughes completed her postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Joan Asarnow at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Dr. Hughes is the recipient of a Young Investigator Grant from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to adapt and test an intervention designed to prevent future suicide attempts in adolescents. Broadly, Dr. Hughes’ research explores the efficacy and effectiveness of psychosocial treatments for building resilience, the prevention and treatment of youth depression, and addressing suicide in youth. For more information, please visit: http://profiles.utsouthwestern.edu/profile/59801/jennifer-hughes.html