Amy Adler, PhD

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research

Amy Adler, Ph.D., is a clinical research psychologist and senior scientist with the Center for Military Psychiatry and Neuroscience at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). She obtained a B.A. in economics from Brown University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas. She completed her clinical internship and fellowship at Chicago-area medical centers.

Dr. Adler then served as a clinical psychologist in military health clinics in Frankfurt and Darmstadt, Germany, as an instructor with the University of Maryland-European Division, and as a research psychologist in an overseas unit of WRAIR located in Heidelberg, Germany. She later transitioned to WRAIR in Silver Spring, MD.

Besides conducting randomized trials with training and operational units, Dr. Adler has authored more than 160 articles and chapters, and co-edited seven books, including Anger at Work (2021) and Deployment Psychology (2011). She also served as an associate editor of Military Psychology and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Her current roles include capability area manager with the Army’s Psychological Health, Resilience, and Wellbeing research program and senior advisor to the WRAIR’s Research Transition Office.

Dr. Adler received the Department of the Army Meritorious Civilian Service Award (2014, 2020) and the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (2008, 2018). She is a member of the Order of Military Medical Merit (OM3), is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, received a Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Psychological Association (2017) and is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from The Military Health Systems Research Symposium (2019).

Dr. Adler’s current research interests include emotion regulation strategies, small-team adaptability, behavioral health leadership, and rapid peer-based interventions to reduce acute stress.