Associate Professor In the Child Study Center and in Psychiatry; Vice Chair for Research, Child Study Center; Co-Director of the Tic and OCD Program, Child Study Center; Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Research Interests
- Anxiety Disorders
- Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
- Child Psychiatry
- Compulsive Behavior
- Genetics
- Genetics, Behavioral
- Tourette Syndrome
- Obsessive Behavior
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
- Psychiatry
- Stereotyped Behavior
- Tic Disorders
- Trichotillomania
- Stereotypic Movement Disorder
- Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
Dr. Fernandez is a child psychiatrist and psychiatric geneticist who has an active clinical practice and research laboratory. Tom is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale School of Medicine, with additional research training at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He completed residency training in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry in the Solnit Integrated Residency Program at Yale. As a faculty member in Yale Child Study Center and the Department of Psychiatry, Tom's research efforts include the following investigations into developmental neuropsychiatric disorders: (1) discovering genetic mutations in Tourette syndrome, motor stereotypies, obsessive-compulsive disorder, ADHD, and anxiety disorders using next generation DNA sequencing (whole genome and exome), and using these discoveries to identify treatment targets; (2) discovering epigenetic marker variation in these disorders; and (3) clinical trials of new behavioral and medication treatments. Tom has received research funding from the NIMH (K08, R01), Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD), Simons Foundation, and Allison Family Foundation. Additionally, Tom works clinically as an attending in the Tourette/OCD/ADHD Clinic at Yale Child Study Center.