Kelly Aschbrenner is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Senior Scientist in the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System, and the Director of Research at New Hampshire Hospital. Broadly, her research focuses on the development, evaluation and implementation of evidence-based practices to improve the health and quality of life of individuals living with serious mental illness. Dr. Aschbrenner’s work involves a unique blend of intervention research, community-engagement, digital health technologies, mixed methods research, and implementation science. Her current projects include an NIMH-funded effectiveness study of a peer support and digital health technology intervention to address cardiovascular risk among young adults with serious mental illness, including major depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, in community mental health clinics and a statewide stakeholder planning project to implement an evidence-based intervention for first episode psychosis.

As an applied mental health services researcher, Dr. Aschbrenner is driven to find ways to adapt evidence-based interventions for better fit within routine care delivery settings while maintaining fidelity to the core functions that make interventions effective. She uses implementation science methodologies and frameworks to guide this work.

Dr. Aschbrenner is an active and dedicated research mentor, mentoring new investigators both locally and nationally. She serves as a consultant to scholars in the NIH-funded Mixed Methods Research Training Program for the Health Sciences.

Dr. Aschbrenner is a standing member of the NIMH’s Mental Health Services Research Committee (SERV) study section.

In her free time, Dr. Aschbrenner enjoys running, hiking, and indulging in home remodeling shows.