Ellen McGinnis, PhD

I’m a Clinical Child Psychologist and Assistant Professor in Social Sciences and Health Policy, as well as Pediatrics. I’m passionate about advancing mHealth projects, where I develop innovative smartphone apps paired with wearable sensors to track digital phenotypes of mental health across the lifespan. My work focuses on early childhood mental health diagnoses, detecting stress in young adults, and using biofeedback to predict and intervene in panic attacks in adulthood. Through my NIMH K23 award, I created digital phenotypes for anxiety and depression using wearable sensors and smartphones to enhance diagnosis and monitor symptom progress. I co-founded two companies, developing smartphone apps for mental health data collection, and received NSF Innovation Corps funding to explore business strategies. In 2024, I was honored to be selected as an NIH scholar for the mobile health technology institute (mHTI) and the Coaching and Resources for Entrepreneurial Women (CREW) program. I’m excited to continue innovating digital health technologies to better mental well-being.