Benjamin Handen, Ph.D.

Benjamin Handen, Ph.D., BCBA-D is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Director of Research and Clinical Services at the Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders at Western Psychiatric Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh. He also serves on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh Applied Behavior Analysis Certification Program. Dr. Handen is a clinical psychologist with over 35 years’ experience in the field of autism and developmental disorders. He has published widely in the areas of psychopharmacological and psychosocial treatment of behavioral disorders in special populations as well as on dementia in Down syndrome. For the past ten years, Dr. Handen has served as the principal investigator of the University of Pittsburgh Autism Care Network (ACNet) site, funded by Autism Speaks. Currently he is the contact principal investigator for the Alzheimer Biomarker Consortium – Down Syndrome (ABC-DS), an international effort (funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Aging) to follow a cohort of adults with Down syndrome over time to identify early biomarkers that may herald the onset of Alzheimer's disease. He is serving as a co-investigator and co-lead for the Clinical Core for the ACE.