Dara Babinski

Dara Babinski is an Associate Professor and Ling and Esther Tan Early Career Professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Pennsylvania State University. She is affiliated with the Division of Child Outpatient Services and the Penn State Neuroscience Institute. Her research focuses on the developmental course and treatment of ADHD, particularly in girls, women, and mothers, with an emphasis on interpersonal and affective functioning. She has held research grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), including projects on biosocial models of borderline personality features in youth and social processing in adolescent girls with ADHD.

Education:

• Clinical Psychology, PhD, State University of New York (SUNY)-Buffalo (2013)

Research Interests: Dr. Babinski’s work explores ADHD’s impact on interpersonal dynamics, affective regulation, and gender-specific manifestations. She investigates interventions targeting these areas and contributes to understanding comorbid conditions like borderline personality disorder and conduct disorders. Her studies often employ mixed-methods approaches and longitudinal designs to assess treatment efficacy and developmental trajectories.

Grants & Projects:

• Testing a Biosocial Model of Borderline Personality Features in Youth (NIMH, 2021–2024)
• Social Processing in Adolescent Girls with ADHD (NIMH, 2020–2022)

Labs/Teams: Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams at the Penn State Neuroscience Institute and the Division of Child Outpatient Services to advance translational research in child and adolescent mental health.