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Geraldine Dawson

William Cleland Distinguished Professor
Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychiatry
Box 3527 DUMC, Durham, NC 27710
2608 Erwin Road, Suite 300, Duke University Med Center, Durham, NC 27705

Research Interests


Autism, neuroscience

Selected Grants


Duke-NCCU Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Training Program in Child Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Conditions Program (DN-IPT)

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Duke University Psychiatry Physician-Scientist Residency Training Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Electrophysiological biomarkers of social engagement in autism

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2028

Caregiver Coaching to Improve Outcomes of Young Autistic Children in Africa

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute of Mental Health · 2022 - 2027

Stratifying the Heterogeneity of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Impact of Co-Occurring Anxiety and ADHD

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · 2021 - 2026

Novel Approaches to Infant Screening for ASD in Pediatric Primary Care

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2025

Duke CTSA (TL1) Year 5

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2018 - 2024

Scalable Computational Platform For Active Closed-Loop Behavioral Coding in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2024

Digital Behavioral Outcome Measures for Autism

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative · 2019 - 2023

Tailoring treatment targets for early autism intervention in Africa

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2023

Marcus Foundation Phase II MSC ASD

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by The Marcus Foundation · 2019 - 2022

Duke Expanded Access Protocol Proposal for the Cord Blood Association Foundation

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Cord Blood Association Foundation · 2020 - 2022

A High-Performance 3T MRI for Brain Imaging

EquipmentMajor User · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2022

Building a streamlined birth cohort to study autism risk factors and biomarkers

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Drexel University · 2020 - 2022

Pilot Study to Improve Access to Early Intervention for Autism in Africa

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2015 - 2021

1/5-The Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Yale University · 2015 - 2020

Scalable Quantitative Video Analysis for Online Phenotyping, Early Screening, and Symptom Monitoring for Autism Spectrum Disorders

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative · 2017 - 2018

The Role of Sensory Over-Responsivity in the Development of Anxiety in Children With and Without Autism

ResearchMentor · Awarded by Brain and Behavior Research Foundation · 2016 - 2018

Precursors to the development of anxiety disorders in young children with autism spectrum disorder

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Department of Defense · 2014 - 2017

ASF Undergraduate Summer Research Award

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Autism Science Foundation · 2017 - 2017

A Study to Assess the Janssen Autism Knowledge Engine in Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and in a Normally Developing Cohort

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Janssen Research & Development, LLC · 2015 - 2016

Networked Cortical Responses to Movement Associated with ASD

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2012 - 2016

A Phase 0 Study to Preliminarily Assess the Janssen Autism Knowledge Engine in Children and Adults with ASD

Clinical TrialPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Janssen Research & Development, LLC · 2014 - 2015

Fellowships, Gifts, and Supported Research


Seed Grant: Increasing Neurodiversity Competency of Faculty at Duke University · 2023 PI · Awarded by: Duke Office for Faculty Advancement

External Relationships


  • Apple Inc.
  • CryoCell International
  • Guilford Publications
  • Japanese Society of Neurology
  • Nonverbal Learning Disabilities Project, Inc
  • Oxford University Press
  • Springer Publishing Company
  • Tris Pharma
  • UC Davis
  • Yamo Pharmaceuticals

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.