Christine Cha, PhD

Christine Cha, PhD, is an associate professor in the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine. She is a speaker at the 2025 On the Shoulders of Giants Scientific Symposium.

Dr. Cha’s research focuses on youth suicide, with an emphasis on assessing, predicting, and reducing risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors early in life. Her work has been funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the New York City Department of Health. In 2021, she received the Rising Star Award from the Association for Psychological Science.

Dr. Cha serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, and General Hospital Psychiatry. She is also a licensed psychologist in Connecticut and New York.

Dr. Cha received her BA in psychology and Spanish from Wellesley College and her PhD in clinical psychology from Harvard University. She completed her clinical internship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Before joining Yale, she was an associate professor of clinical psychology and director of the Laboratory for Clinical and Developmental Studies at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she continues to serve as Honorary Associate Research Professor.