Tristram Smith

Tristram Smith, PhD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), where he leads federally funded studies comparing the efficacy of different interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). He is also a clinician in URMC’s Community Consultation Program, serving students with ASD and other intellectual disabilities in public schools and other agencies. Dr. Smith’s commitment to the study and treatment of ASD began in 1982, when he had the opportunity to volunteer as a “buddy” for an adult with autism who lived near his college. This experience inspired him to apply to graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied clinical psychology and worked as a therapist and researcher with O. Ivar Lovaas, PhD, in the UCLA Young Autism Project. Before moving to Rochester in 2000, Dr. Smith directed clinics for children with ASD and their families in the states of California, Iowa, and Washington. He has authored or coauthored several of the most widely cited studies on treatment outcomes for children with ASD.