معرفی
Dr. Tara Thompson-Felix serves as an Assistant Professor in the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine. Her work bridges psychiatry, neuroscience, and maternal-fetal medicine with a focus on understanding how in-utero experiences impact child neurodevelopment. She maintains active research collaborations across multiple departments including OB/GYN, neuroscience, and psychiatry.
- Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School - Doctor of Medicine
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - BA in Psychology (2009)
- Temple University Hospital - Resident Physician, Chief Resident (2020)
- Yale Graduate School of Arts & Sciences - PhD candidate in the Yale Investigative Medicine Program
Dr. Thompson-Felix's research centers on maternal-fetal relations, particularly examining how maternal health factors like obesity impact child neurodevelopment through fetal neuron-derived extracellular vesicles. Her work integrates epigenetics, neuroscience, and clinical psychiatry to develop biomarkers for early detection of neurodevelopmental risks. She investigates the epigenetic landscape of fetal neural exosomes associated with in utero exposures, including opioids, to understand short- and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes. Her research has significant implications for early intervention strategies in child development.
Her publication record demonstrates a clear trajectory from foundational work in genetics and epigenetics toward increasingly sophisticated investigations of maternal-fetal interactions and neurodevelopment. Recent publications focus on extracellular vesicles as biomarkers, maternal social support effects on child cognition, and methodological standards for vesicle research. Her work spans basic science, clinical applications, and important social dimensions of healthcare including anti-racism initiatives in psychiatric training.
- APA research colloquium awardee (2018)
- National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative (NNCI) scholar
- 2020 George Ginsberg Fellowship award from AADPRT
- Patterson Mentored Trust Award
- NRSA TL1 training program
- NIH Loan Repayment Program
- Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Award (2024)
Dr. Thompson-Felix has secured significant funding including the Patterson Mentored Trust Award, NRSA TL1 training program, NIH Loan Repayment Program, and 2022 YCSC trainee pilot award. She serves as an Early-Career Mentored Editorial Board Member for the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Her teaching contributions include developing innovative materials through the National Neuroscience Curriculum Initiative and receiving recognition for her commitment to medical education. She actively mentors through the Underrepresented Minority (URM) Near Peer Program.
Her research operates at the intersection of multiple Yale initiatives including the Yale Child Study Center, Yale Center for Genomic Health, and Yale/NIDA Neuroproteomics Center. She collaborates extensively with researchers across disciplines, particularly with Hung Pham, Kieran O'Donnell, Adam Lombroso, and Andrés S. Martin. Her work with the Yale Investigative Medicine Program supports translational research connecting basic science discoveries with clinical applications in child psychiatry and developmental neuroscience.
