Kelly Zuromski, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
 
Advancing Understanding, Prediction, and Prevention of Suicide
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the U.S., and over the past several decades, the suicide rate has steadily increased. This increase has occurred despite exponential growth in research aimed at understanding and preventing suicidal behavior. Several limitations of existing research may be stymying advances in suicide prevention science, including: focus on a narrow set of distal and time-invariant risk factors; lack of complexity in suicide risk prediction models; and lack of scalable, accessible interventions for suicidal individuals. Dr. Zuromski’s research program seeks to address these limitations using novel, interdisciplinary research designs and methods drawing from clinical science, public health (e.g., epidemiological surveys), and computer science (e.g., using real-time monitoring technologies to study suicide risk). In this talk, she will provide theoretical and empirical context for studying suicidal behavior and emphasize the importance of innovation to advance understanding, prediction, and prevention of suicide. Dr. Zuromski will discuss recent findings from three areas of her research: (1) identification of novel, transdiagnostic risk factors for suicidal behavior, (2) development of risk algorithms to predict suicidal behavior, and (3) study of challenges and implementation barriers in the treatment of suicidal individuals. In addition, she will briefly discuss plans for future projects, emphasizing opportunities in technology and the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration to revolutionize the study and prevention of suicide.

This free lecture is  part of the candidate review for an assistant professor position in Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology.