Julie Lounds Taylor, Ph.D.

Co-Director Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Vanderbilt Kennedy University

Julie Lounds Taylor, Ph.D., is Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), and an Investigator at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. She is nationally recognized for her research on promoting positive adult outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly autistic adolescents and young adults as they transition from school to adulthood.

Dr. Taylor received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Notre Dame and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Lifespan Family Research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research examines the factors that contribute to successful transitions into adulthood, with a particular focus on employment, postsecondary services, family advocacy, mental health, quality of life, and long-term outcomes for autistic individuals and their families.

Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Autism Speaks, the United States Department of Defense, and the FAR Fund. She is the recipient of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) Early Career Award, serves as an Associate Editor for Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, and is a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.

Dr. Taylor has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and is widely recognized for translating research into practical strategies that help families, educators, clinicians, and community providers support autistic young adults in building meaningful, connected, and successful adult lives.