Gwen Lawson is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for Mental Health . She received her BA in Human Biology from Stanford University. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a teacher in an under-resourced high school. Dr. Lawson received her Ph.D. in Psychology from The University of Pennsylvania. Her graduate research investigated the ways that childhood adversity shapes disparities in cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel targets for interventions. Dr. Lawson completed her predoctoral internship at the University of Maryland Center for School Mental Health, where she provided prevention, intervention, and consultation services in a Baltimore elementary school. Dr. Lawson is pursuing a research agenda focused on the evaluation and implementation of school-based strategies to improve mental health, particularly for low-income populations.