News

We are delighted to announce that Benjamin Handen, PhD, has received conferral of tenure at the rank of professor by the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Handen is an internationally recognized leader in the study of autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. His early work focused on investigating the safety and efficacy of stimulant medication to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children with intellectual disability. He subsequently conducted psychopharmacological research in the autism population, and has shaped how autism is treated in terms of both psychopharmacology and psychosocial intervention. Dr. Handen has led clinical trials that provided the first evidence for new treatment approaches in childhood autism, which included both pharmacological interventions and training programs for parents and caregivers. Dr. Handen’s research additionally incorporates neurobiological approaches to understanding biomarker changes related to the development of cognitive impairment among individuals with Down syndrome.

Dr. Handen’s research has contributed to clinical care guidelines, and he is a recipient of the International Autism Coordinating Committee Top Autism Research Advances Award. He has led and co-led large and impactful studies, including the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Alzheimer’s Biomarkers Consortium–Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) U19 grant, focused on examining biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome. The University of Pittsburgh is the lead ABC-DS site, which involves nine Pitt departments and 16 external collaborating sites. In addition, Dr. Handen leads grants funded by Autism Speaks and the Health Resources and Services Administration, and is site PI for the multicenter Autism Care Network. He co-leads the clinical core of the Department’s Autism Center of Excellence (P50) grant, “Mental Health in Autistic Adults: An RDoC Approach,” which provides data to all of the P50’s projects to characterize the sample. As the director of research and clinical services at the UPMC Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders (CADD), Dr. Handen has established a valuable clinical site contributing to effectiveness trials led by fellow investigators. 

An outstanding teacher, Dr. Handen’s roles as an educator include didactic and clinical teaching and research mentorship. He developed an Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate Program for the Pitt School of Education’s Division of Special Education, and teaches four courses annually as part of this program. He teaches psychiatry residents and clinical psychology interns, as well as psychology graduate students, and has served on numerous graduate thesis committees across the University. 

“Dr. Handen has sustained a very important and generative research career focused on autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, and in recent years has engineered a greatly expanded program to explore the course of Alzheimer's disease pathology in individuals with Down syndrome,” said David Lewis, MD (Chair, Department of Psychiatry). “His research is complemented by his superb clinical and educational leadership and service at CADD. He has been, and continues to be, a key contributor to our Departmental mission.”

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Handen!