Dr. Wood is among the leading psychiatrists specializing in mental health support for neurodiverse individuals, bringing a rare combination of neuroscience research training and clinical expertise to the care of neurodivergent patients across the lifespan. Many people with neurodevelopmental differences — ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, developmental trauma — experience dysfunction and distress related to their learning and attentional profiles. Dr. Wood recognizes that these individuals are at higher risk for depression, anxiety, obsessive and compulsive disorders, psychosis, substance use disorders, and trauma disorders, and she is equipped to work with complex clinical profiles. She works with children, adolescents, and adults, seeing patients across the lifespan because she recognizes these conditions don't stop at 18 years old.
Dr. Wood is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is board-certified in Child & Adolescent and General Adult psychiatry. She specializes in treating and advocating for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan and individuals with serious and persistent mental illness, especially those detained in carceral settings. She previously worked with youth incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Juvenile Halls and as a supervising psychiatrist at the Los Angeles County Twin Towers Jail, the largest mental health facility in the world.
Dr. Wood received her MD & PhD in Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and then completed her adult and child psychiatry training at the UCLA Semel Neuropsychiatric Institute, where she did post-doctoral research on sensory processing and trauma in youth with autism and in the foster/adoptive system.
She is active in legislative and other government advocacy as co-chair of Government Affairs and co-chair of Alternatives to Incarceration for the Southern California Psychiatric Society and past-chair of Government Affairs for the California State Association of Psychiatrists. In those roles, she advocates for equity in and access to quality mental health care, especially for those with serious and persistent mental illness who cycle in and out of the carceral system. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, where she teaches neuroscience and government advocacy to psychiatry trainees. She is also faculty with the Judges & Psychiatrists Leadership Initiative and with the California Center on Judicial Education and Research and teaches mental health courses for judges, credible messengers, and case managers.
Education and Training:
Post-doctoral Research Fellow – Center for Autism Research and Treatment, University of California, Los Angeles (2021)
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow – Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles (2020)
General Psychiatry Resident – Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles (2018)
MD – Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (2015)
PhD – Johns Hopkins University, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Baltimore, Maryland & National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland (2015)
BS, Magna Cum Laude with Distinction in Psychology – University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (2006)
Awards and Honors:
Ritvo Fellow Award in Child Psychiatry Research and Academic Scholarship, UCLA Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2020)
AACAP Educational Outreach Program for Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Residents, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2019)
Best Project in Informatics Award, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Resident Informatics Program (2019)
Outstanding Resident Award, National Institute of Mental Health (2017)
Fellows Award for Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health (2013)
ISMRM Annual Meeting Educational/Training Award, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2010, 2013)
Turock Young Scientist Award, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Graduate Program (2009)