Michelle Menezes

Michelle Menezes is a Research Fellow in the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine. Her work focuses on autism spectrum disorder, mental health interventions, and family resilience in neurodiverse populations. She holds a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia (2023) and a BA in Psychology from Brown University (2016).

Education:

• PhD in Clinical Psychology, University of Virginia (2023)
• AB in Psychology, Brown University (2016)

Research Interests: Michelle’s research examines disparities in mental health care access for autistic individuals, therapeutic efficacy for neurodivergent populations, and the interplay between family resilience and child outcomes in autism. She employs mixed-methods approaches, including qualitative studies of autistic adults’ therapy experiences and longitudinal analyses of diagnostic trends in primary care.

Awards:

• CHIPS Fellow (2024)
• Elizabeth Munsterberg Koppitz Fellowship (2021)
• APA Division 33 Award (2019)

Key Research Themes: Her recent work addresses disparities in autism diagnosis, the role of screen time in co-occurring mental health conditions, and systemic barriers to healthcare access. She is a core contributor to the ECHO Autism initiative, which expands community-based autism care training.

Labs/Teams: Active member of the Child Study Center’s Neurodevelopmental Disorders research team, collaborating with primary care providers to improve diagnostic practices through ECHO Autism telehealth networks.