Social Anxiety in Adolescents and Young Adults Translating Developmental Science Into Practice

Candice A. Alfano, PhD, received her doctorate in clinical psychology in 2005 from the University of Maryland, College Park. After completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, she joined the faculty at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Dr. Alfano is an assistant professor of psychology and pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. She founded and directs the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Program at Children's National Medical Center, providing comprehensive clinical services for anxious youth and training for psychology interns and child psychiatry fellows.

Dr. Alfano has received several awards for her research, including awards from the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, APA's Division 53 (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology), and a 2008 New Investigator Award cosponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology. She received awards in 2009 and 2010 for Outstanding Teaching at Children's National Medical Center.

Dr. Alfano serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals, including the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters. She is coauthor (with Deborah C. Beidel) of the book Childhood Anxiety Disorders: A Guide to Research and Treatment. Her primary academic, research, and clinical interests focus on the early etiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of anxiety disorders, including the role of childhood sleep abnormalities.

Dr. Alfano is the recipient of a 5-year Mentored Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health to study sleep disturbances in children with anxiety disorders, including potential targets for psychosocial intervention.

Deborah C. Beidel, PhD, received her doctorate in 1986 from the University of Pittsburgh. After serving as faculty at the University of Pittsburgh; the Medical University of South Carolina; the University of Maryland, College Park; and Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, she joined the doctoral program in clinical psychology at the University of Central Florida in 2007. In addition to her appointment as professor of psychology, she is director of the doctoral program in clinical psychology and director of the University of Central Florida Anxiety Disorders Clinic.

She was the 1990 recipient of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy's New Researcher Award, the 1995 Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Medical School Psychologists, and the 2005 recipient of the Samuel M. Turner Clinical Research Award from APA's Division 12 (Society for Clinical Psychology) Section III (Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology).

Dr. Beidel is the American Board of Professional Psychology diplomate in clinical psychology and behavioral psychology and is a fellow of the APA and the Association for Psychological Science. Her academic, research, and clinical interests focus on child and adult anxiety disorders, including their etiology, psychopathology, and behavioral treatment.

She is associate editor of Journal of Anxiety Disorders. In addition to several professional books, Dr. Beidel is the author (with Cynthia Bulik and Melinda Stanley) of the undergraduate textbook Abnormal Psychology: A Scientist-Practitioner Approach.

She has been the recipient of numerous National Institute of Mental Health grants addressing the development and efficacy of behavioral interventions for adults and children with anxiety disorders.