Linda Pfiffner

Linda Pfiffner, PhD is a Professor in Residence at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in the Department of Psychiatry within the School of Medicine. She serves as Director of the Hyperactivity, Attention and Learning Problems (HALP) Program at UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences. Prior to joining UCSF in 2001, she held academic appointments at UC Irvine and the University of Chicago.

Dr. Pfiffner received her BA in Psychology from UCLA in 1981 and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1987. She also completed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion Training at UCSF in 2021.

Her research focuses on developing and evaluating collaborative school-home psychosocial treatments for children with ADHD, particularly the inattentive presentation. She has pioneered several evidence-based interventions including the Child Life and Attention Skills (CLAS) Program and the Collaborative Life Skills Program (CLS), which have been evaluated through rigorous randomized controlled trials. Her work integrates behavioral interventions with digital health technologies to improve accessibility and implementation in school settings.

Dr. Pfiffner's recent publication portfolio demonstrates a strong emphasis on implementation science, cross-cultural adaptation of interventions (particularly in Mexico), digital health tools for ADHD treatment, and understanding factors that influence treatment adherence and outcomes. Her research increasingly incorporates technology-enhanced approaches and examines cultural and familial factors that impact intervention effectiveness.

• 2012 CHADD Hall of Fame Award
• 2009 CHADD ADHD and Family Issues Award
• 2004 CHADD Innovative Program of the Year Award
• President, Past President of International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology (2017-2021)

Dr. Pfiffner serves as Director of the Clifford Attkisson Clinical Services Research Training Program, an NIMH-funded T32 that supports postdoctoral scholars pursuing careers in mental health services research. Her research has been continuously funded for over 25 years through multiple grants from NIMH and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), including several current projects extending through 2028-2029 that focus on digital health solutions, cross-cultural implementation, and remote training for school mental health providers.

She leads the Hyperactivity, Attention and Learning Problems (HALP) Program and has developed several evidence-based interventions including the Child Life and Attention Skills (CLAS) Program and the Collaborative Life Skills Program (CLS). Her current work focuses on adapting these interventions through digital platforms to increase accessibility and implementation in school settings across diverse cultural contexts.