Keynote Presenter

Kimberly Yonkers is the Katz Family Chair of Psychiatry at UMass Medical School/UMass Memorial Medical Center. As a Physician Scientist, her impact on the field of mood and substance use disorders in women is substantial. She conducted numerous studies supported by the National Institutes of Health. These projects focused on exploring optimal ways to identify, engage and treat mood disorders and substance use disorders in women, particularly pregnant and postpartum individuals. In a cohort of 2700 pregnant individuals, she mapped the course of mood, anxiety and substance use disorders and examined their relationship with adverse birth outcomes. She has also devised and tested behavioral and pharmacological treatments for perinatal women with substance use disorders.

Leadership is a critical component of Dr. Yonkers biography. She chaired permanent and special grant study sections for the National Institutes of Health, was a member of the Task Force for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5) and sits on the steering committee for revisions to DSM-5. She served as president of the North American Society of Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology, chaired the Women’s Committee for the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and participated in planning committees for Biological Psychiatry, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology and the International Association of Women’s Mental Health.

Dr. Yonkers is an active educator and mentor. She is author of more than 150 peer reviewed publications, 26 chapters and 2 edited books. Among her invited lectures and awards are those from the American Psychiatric Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.