Thomas Richard Kwapil

Thomas Richard Kwapil serves as Professor and Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign within the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. His research program investigates schizotypy, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and bipolar spectrum psychopathology through experimental and developmental psychopathology frameworks.

Education:

• Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1994)

Research Focus: Guided by the question of how to identify individuals at risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, his work examines symptom, personality, neurocognitive, biobehavioral, and genetic correlates of schizotypy. Secondary research explores clinical and subclinical manifestations of hyperthymic traits within bipolar spectrum psychopathology. His laboratory employs cross-sectional and prospective designs with emphasis on Experience Sampling Methodology to study the expression of psychopathology in daily life, multidimensional structure of schizotypy, and risk assessment for bipolar spectrum disorders.

Publication Trends: Recent 2025 publications demonstrate an integrative approach combining genetic analysis, longitudinal assessment, and real-time experience sampling to investigate gene-environment interactions in psychotic-like experiences, predictive validity of schizotypy measures, and temporal dynamics of schizotypic symptoms. These works collectively advance understanding of psychosis proneness and mood spectrum disorders through methodologically sophisticated daily life monitoring.

Mentorship: Professor Kwapil actively recruits graduate students (admission cycle 2025) and involves student researchers across all projects. His laboratory structure includes dedicated sections for current graduate students, graduate alumni, other researchers, and undergraduate research assistants.

Laboratory: The PLE Lab (Psychosis and Lifestyle Experiences) operates within the Clinical-Community Program, directing research on schizotypy development, bipolar spectrum psychopathology, and normal personality variations through collaborative work with UIUC graduate and undergraduate researchers.