Dr. Desiree R. Jones
2023 Cohort | Forbes 30 Under 30 | President’s Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Maryland, College Park
Dr. Desiree R. Jones is a current PROMISE Academy and President’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland. She began her career at Wellesley College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Psychology in 2016. Following graduation, Dr. Jones worked as a research assistant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for two years before starting her graduate training at the University of Texas at Dallas. She completed her MS in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience in 2020 and received her PhD in Psychological Sciences in 2023.
Dr. Jones’ research focuses on how autistic people are perceived by their peers, how these perceptions differ for autistic people from underrepresented groups, and how to reduce stigma among non-autistic people. She is also interested in using qualitative methods to better understand the experiences of autistic people with intersecting identities, with an emphasis on Black autistic people. Her dissertation investigated the relationship between stigmatizing attitudes, peer victimization, and mental health outcomes in Black and White autistic adults. In 2023, her research was recognized as part of Forbes 30 Under 30 Science List.
As a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Dr. Elizabeth Redcay in the Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Dr. Jones will investigate the relationship between neural divergence, peer stigma, and loneliness in autistic adolescents. As a secondary focus, she will explore qualitative reports of social identity in autistic youth. She hopes to continue her research on race, stigma, and autism as a tenure-track professor at a research-intensive university.
