Alysse Loomis, PhD is a licensed clinical social worker and Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Utah. Her current research explores the impact of early childhood trauma and other adversity. She is interested in identifying mechanisms through which childhood adversity contributes to educational and health disparities as well as understanding how natural systems of care, such as schools, can be leveraged to prevent future adversity exposure and support child well-being. For example, her recent publications highlight the relationship between violence exposure and suspension/expulsion risk for students and unpack the influence of trauma-informed training for preschool teachers on trauma-informed attitudes and perceptions of student expulsion risk.
At the University of Utah, Dr. Loomis teaches Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Child Welfare Practice, and Child Abuse & Neglect courses, which is informed by over six years of clinical experience working with young children and adults who experienced trauma. Dr. Loomis is a project evaluator for a federal grant (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration – National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative Category III) and Co-Project Director for a federal training grant focused on trauma-informed, infant mental health pre-service training (Office of Special Education Programs, Department of Education). Dr. Loomis is the current President of the Utah Association of Infant Mental Health and on the Editorial Board of Families in Society.