Christine Wu Nordahl, Ph.D.
Director, Autism Phenome Project
Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis
Christine Wu Nordahl, Ph.D., is a professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis and one of the nation's leading neuroscientists studying brain development in autism. She serves as the Beneto Foundation Endowed Chair at the UC Davis MIND Institute, Director of the internationally recognized Autism Phenome Project, and Associate Director of the UC Davis Imaging Research Center. In 2026, she also serves as Scientific Program Chair for the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), the world's leading scientific organization dedicated to autism research.
Dr. Nordahl's research uses advanced neuroimaging to better understand how the autistic brain develops from early childhood through adolescence. Her work is focused on identifying meaningful subtypes of autism that can lead to more personalized supports and interventions. She is particularly recognized for advancing the field's understanding of autism in girls and women. In 2014, she founded the Girls with Autism–Imaging of Neurodevelopment (GAIN) Study, one of the first large-scale longitudinal studies dedicated to understanding the unique developmental experiences of autistic females.
Committed to ensuring autism research reflects the full diversity of the autism spectrum, Dr. Nordahl's work includes individuals across the range of intellectual abilities and support needs. Her research has also informed the development of NeuroTeens, an innovative social support program for neurodivergent girls and gender-diverse teens that translates scientific discoveries into meaningful, real-world impact. She has authored more than 175 peer-reviewed publications and is internationally recognized for her contributions to autism neuroscience, sex differences in autism, and developmental brain imaging. She earned bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and Psychology from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Davis.