Lab Director
Dr. Margaret “Maggie” T. Davis, PhD. (she/her)
Associate Professor | Yale School of Medicine
Co-appointed faculty | Yale Department of Psychology
Dr. Davis is a licensed clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, co-appointed in the Department of Psychology. More generally, Dr. Davis is an expert in trauma-and-stressor related conditions; her research focuses on identification and interrogation of neurobiological mechanisms underlying trauma related psychopathology (e.g. PTSD, BPD, eating disorders, substance use) and their link to suicide behaviors and risk. Dr. Davis uses multi-modal neuroimaging techniques (positron emission tomography (PET) and fMRI) to explore novel biomarkers and putative treatment targets with the potential to reduce risk in survivors of trauma. Her research is and/or has been made possible with support from NIMH, NIDA, the Patterson Foundation, Yale Biomedical Imaging Institute, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Clinically Dr. Davis is a specialist with training and expertise in prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (various protocols) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). She serves as the faculty lead for data integration and research management for the Yale New Haven Health Adult Behavioral Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP). Further, Dr. Davis participated in the piloting and validation of the two most widely used assessments for PTSD in the DSM-5 (PCL-5 and the CAPS-5). As a trauma survivor, and family member of individuals with lived experience of both BPD and PTSD Dr. Davis is deeply committed to advocacy for patients rights, improving science communication, and optimizing efficacy, availability, and affordability of interventions. She serves on the board of Emotions Matter, and co-leads the annual Yale/BPD Alliance (formerly NEA-BPD) conference.
Outside of her work at UPLiFT, Dr. Davis enjoys spending time with her husband and playing with their three dogs - Teddy, Hopper, and Foz.
