Thomas Fernandez, MD
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Biography
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.
Education & Training
- FellowshipYale Child Study Center (2012)
- ResidencyYale-New Haven Hospital (2011)
- ResidencyYale-New Haven Hospital (2010)
- MDYale University School of Medicine (2005)
- BAPrinceton University, Psychology (1997)
Activities
- DocuMental: Enhancing Mental Health Documentation through a Secure, Generative AI WorkflowNew Haven, CT, United States 20242024 AI in Medicine Symposium
- Stereotypies in Autism Spectrum DisorderNew York, NY, United States 2023American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 70th Annual Meeting
- DNA Sequencing Study of Parent-Child Trios With Childhood Anxiety DisordersPhoenix, AZ, United States 2022American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Meeting
- Don’t Worry, the Genetics of OCD is Finally Catching UpToronto, ON, Canada 2022American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 69th Annual Meeting
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Era of GenomicsToronto, ON, Canada 2022American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 69th Annual Meeting
- Contribution of Post-Zygotic Variants to Tourette's DisorderToronto, ON, Canada 2022American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 69th Annual Meeting
- Contribution of Copy-Number Variation to Obsessive-Compulsive DisorderNew Orleans, LA, United States 2022Society of Biological Psychiatry 77th Annual Meeting
- Characterizing De Novo Damaging Coding Variants in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity DisorderSan Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico 2021American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Annual Meeting
Honors & Recognition
Award | Awarding Organization | Date |
---|---|---|
Spark Award | Yale Institute for Global Health | 2023 |
Tourette Association of America (TAA) Center of Excellence | Tourette Association of America | 2022 |
Outstanding Mentor Award | American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | 2019 |
Finalist, Ziskind-Somerfeld Research Award, for the paper “Transcriptome Analysis of the Human Striatum in Tourette Syndrome” published in Biological Psychiatry | Society of Biological Psychiatry | 2017 |
Allison Family Foundation Psychiatric Research Scholar | Yale Department of Psychiatry and Child Study Center | 2012 |
Seymour L. Lustman Award for Psychiatric Research | Yale Department of Psychiatry | 2010 |
Donald J. Cohen Fellowship Program for International Scholars in Child & Adolescent Mental Health | International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP) | 2007 |
Theodore Lidz Prize in Psychiatry (for thesis, “Gene discovery in developmental neuropsychiatric disorders: clues from chromosomal rearrangements”) | Yale School of Medicine | 2005 |
Farr Scholar Award (for medical student research) | Yale School of Medicine | 2005 |
Professional Service
Organization | Role | Date |
---|---|---|
Neurological, Mental, and Behavioral Health (NMBH) Study Section, NIH Center for Scientific Review | Member | 2022 - 2024 |
Yale School of Medicine, Precision Medicine Search Committee | Member | 2022 - Present |
Yale Child Study Center, Trainee Research Awards Committee | Chair | 2022 - Present |
Yale Department of Psychiatry, T32 Steering Committee | Member | 2022 - Present |
Yale School of Medicine, Office of Physician-Scientist and Scientist Development (OPSSD) Advisory Council | Committee Member | 2021 - Present |
Yale Department of Psychiatry, Seymour Lustman Research Award Committee | Member | 2021 - Present |
Yale Department of Psychiatry, Detre Research Award Committee | Member | 2021 - Present |
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Annual Meeting Research Poster Committee | Chair | 2019 - 2023 |
Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology (BGES) Study Section, NIH Center for Scientific Review | Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology Study Section (BGES) Standing Member | 2018 - 2022 |
Yale School of Medicine, Dean's Faculty Advisory Council | Member | 2018 - 2021 |
American College Neuropsychopharmacology, Annual Meeting Program Committee | Member | 2018 - 2021 |
Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | Associate Editor | 2018 - 2021 |
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Annual Meeting Program Committee | Member | 2017 - 2023 |
Behavioral Genetics and Epidemiology (BGES) Study Section, NIH Center for Scientific Review | Early Career Reviewer Program | 2017 - 2018 |
Yale School of Medicine, Admissions Committee | Committee Member | 2016 - 2022 |
Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | Co-Chief Editor with Linda Mayes, MD | 2016 - 2017 |
American College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Associate Member | 2016 - Present |
International College of Neuropsychopharmacology | Member | 2016 - Present |
American Society of Human Genetics | Member | 2015 - Present |
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | Member | 2008 - 2010 |
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry | Member | 2008 - Present |
Departments & Organizations
- Center for Biomedical Data Science
- Center for Brain & Mind Health
- Child Study Center
- Fernandez Lab
- Neuroscience Research Training Program (NRTP)
- Program in Neurodevelopment and Regeneration
- Psychiatry
- Tic Disorder & Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Program
- Yale Medicine