Carlos M. Grilo, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry and of Psychology, and Nadia Ward, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, have been named Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of the Yale Doctoral Internship Training Program in Clinical and Community Psychology.
The appointment was announced March 5 by John H. Krystal, MD, Chair of Psychiatry, and Rajita Sinha, PhD, Chief, Psychology Section in Psychiatry.
Krystal and Sinha described Grilo and Ward as respected leaders in their respective fields. Both have been part of the Psychology Section faculty for many years, and have worked as primary advisors, site leaders, and mentors in the Yale pre-doctoral training program.
"Most importantly, they are passionate about training the next generation of clinical and community psychology leaders and are highly committed to high standards of excellence in the Yale training program," Krystal and Sinha said.
Grilo and Ward will begin their new positions July 1.
The Yale Doctoral Internship Training Program is one of the nation’s premier internships in clinical and community psychology, developing the next generation of leaders in this field. Over 15 students are accepted annually to the program, which has been accredited by the American Psychological Association since 1970.
Interns in the program are referred to as "psychology fellows." The internship begins on July 1 and concludes on June 30 of each academic year.
Grilo's primary research focus is on eating disorders, obesity, and manifestations of disordered eating. His secondary clinical-research interests include psychopathology, personality disorders, and addictions.
He is the Founding Director of the Yale Program for Obesity, Weight, and Eating Research (POWER). He completed his undergraduate education at Brown University (1983) and received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh (1991). Following an internship (1990) and a fellowship (1991) at the Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital and postdoctoral training at Yale University (1992), Grilo joined the faculty at Yale University (1993) and served as Director of Psychology at the Yale Psychiatric Institute (1993-2000).
He has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the past 22 years, and has served as Principal Investigator on 17 grants from the NIH. He received two K24 Mid-Career Investigator Awards in Eating/Weight Disorders, which reflect his longstanding commitment to training and mentoring.
Grilo currently serves on the editorial boards of 10 professional journals. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed journal articles, 25 chapters, and two books on eating and weight disorders.
Ward is Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Consultation Center in New Haven as well as the Director of Urban Education & Prevention Research at the Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Since 2015, she has also been the Clinical Training Director of the Community and Clinical Psychology Predoctoral Internship at the Consultation Center site.
Her program of research focuses on examining cultural and contextual factors that influence social-emotional, behavioral health, and academic achievement outcomes for low-income and minority youth. This work involves the design and evaluation of comprehensive preventive interventions that promote adaptive functioning and reduce problem behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, delinquency) associated with negative developmental outcomes.
Ward has worked extensively with high-risk as well as high achieving urban youth and their families in a variety of capacities. She has designed and evaluated academic enrichment and competence enhancing substance abuse and violence prevention programs in school and community settings.
With funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Ward has secured more than $14 million to support her work in the area of urban school reform where she engages schools and communities in the development, implementation, and evaluation of systemic interventions designed to improve academic performance, and educational trajectories of low-income and minority youth. In addition, she engages in consultation and training to state entities, colleges and universities, public school districts, foundations, private and not-for-profit community agencies.