Jessica L Schleider

Dr. Jessica L. Schleider is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, with secondary appointments in Pediatrics and the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. As Founding Director of the Lab for Scalable Mental Health, she pioneers evidence-based single-session interventions to address global youth mental health disparities.

Education:

• BA: Swarthmore College (2012)
• PhD: Harvard University, Clinical Psychology (2018)
• Doctoral Internship: Yale School of Medicine

Research Interests: Dr. Schleider specializes in scalable mental health solutions through single-session interventions (SSIs), integrating implementation science, digital health, and clinical psychology. Her work targets adolescent depression, body image concerns, and anxiety disorders across diverse populations, emphasizing accessibility and real-world impact through open-science frameworks and digital deployment strategies to bridge critical gaps in mental healthcare ecosystems.

Publication Trends: Her 2025 publications reveal three dominant trajectories: (1) digital SSIs for marginalized youth (e.g., LGBTQ+ body image interventions), (2) intersectional analysis of mental healthcare barriers (race/age disparities in depression treatment), and (3) machine learning applications for early symptom detection. These studies collectively advance scalable, low-cost mental health tools validated across educational, clinical, and community settings.

Scientific Awards:

• NIH Director's Early Independence Award
• Forbes' 30 Under 30 in Healthcare (2020)
• Jerilyn Ross Clinician Advocate Award (2025)
• Jacobs Foundation Research Fellowship (2024)
• ABCT President's New Researcher Award

Grants and Advising: As PI, Dr. Schleider has secured >$10M from NIH, NSF, and HRSA to develop seven open-access mental health programs reaching 70,000+ individuals. She authored The Growth Mindset Workbook for Teens and LITTLE TREATMENTS, BIG EFFECTS, while consulting globally for healthcare organizations and digital health companies to scale evidence-based interventions.

Lab and Teams: The Lab for Scalable Mental Health directs Projects YES and EMPOWER, combining clinical psychology, implementation science, and digital innovation to create accessible youth mental health tools. The lab maintains active partnerships with IPHAM's Center for Dissemination and Implementation Science and the Institute for Global Health Technologies.