Jean A Frazier

Jean A Frazier, MD, is a Professor at UMass Chan Medical School, holding the Robert M. and Shirley S. Siff Chair in Autism. She is affiliated with multiple departments including Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics, Neuroscience, and Translational Science across the T.H. Chan School of Medicine and Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She serves as Vice Chair and Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and co-directs the Child and Adolescent Neurodevelopment Initiative (CANDI).

• B.A. in Music, Wellesley College (1982)
• MD, Dartmouth Medical School (1987)
• Residency and fellowship training in psychiatry and child psychiatry at Tufts-New England Medical Center, Brown University, and the National Institute of Mental Health

Dr. Frazier leads a multidisciplinary research program focused on neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, early-onset bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Her work emphasizes the overlap in symptoms, genetics, and neuroimaging findings across these conditions to identify diagnostic biomarkers and improve clinical interventions. CANDI conducts research in genetics, neuroimaging (e.g., MRI), and intervention studies, often in collaboration with national and local investigators.

Her recent publications reflect a strong emphasis on long-term outcomes in preterm infants, mental health during the pandemic, autism phenotypes, and psychopharmacology. She investigates emotional dysregulation, neuroimaging biomarkers, and social cognition, with a growing interest in health disparities and access to care.

Dr. Frazier has received multiple honors, including:

• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Exemplary Psychiatrist Award
• Massachusetts Psychiatric Society Outstanding Psychiatrist Award for Research
• Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
• Best Doctors in America
• New England Educational Institute’s Outstanding Educator Award

She has held significant professional service roles, including editorial positions at the Harvard Review of Psychiatry, membership on NIH review panels, and advisory roles for national mental health organizations. She mentors numerous trainees and collaborates widely on grants and research initiatives. Dr. Frazier is actively involved in national conversations on pediatric mental health crises, research equity, and antiracist practices in psychiatry.

She leads or contributes to major research initiatives such as CANDI, the Autism Consortium in Boston, and multi-site studies on early-onset bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Her lab focuses on integrating clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic data to advance precision psychiatry in youth.