Dr. Ariel A. Williamson is an Assistant Professor at the Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health and in the Department of Psychology (clinical area) at the University of Oregon, where she directs the Behavior, Emotions, Development and Sleep (BEDS) Lab. Dr. Williamson is a clinical psychologist and Diplomate in Behavioral Sleep Medicine (DBSM) with expertise in pediatric sleep health inequities and behavioral interventions. Her research uses a socio-ecological approach to understand how multiple factors (child; family; school; healthcare system; neighborhood and socio-cultural context) contribute to child sleep problems, inequities, and developmental outcomes. Dr. Williamson’s intervention research applies implementation science principles and community-engaged methods to promote pediatric sleep health and treat sleep problems in primary care and in partnership with community organizations.
Dr. Williamson serves on the board of the Philadelphia-area Beds for Kids program, which provides beds, bedding, and sleep education for children living in poverty and without an individual bed. She is also a sleep expert for the Pediatric Sleep Council, a free, evidence-based resource with information about early childhood sleep for families and clinicians. Dr. Williamson is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research and an Associate Editor for Sleep Health: the official journal of the National Sleep Foundation. She is also a committee member for the American Heart Association’s LIFESTYLE Sleep Health Committee of the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the Sleep Research Society Foundation, and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Foundation. In 2023, she received the American Thoracic Society’s Carole L. Marcus Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes early career accomplishments in pediatric sleep and respiratory neurobiology. She also received the 2023 Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine Arthur Spielman Early Career Distinguished Scientific Award, which reflects significant, sustained scientific contributions to the behavioral sleep medicine community. In 2024, she received the Sleep Research Society's Clinician Investigator Rising Star Award, which recognizes early career investigators who have made significant and sustained contributions to sleep and circadian science.
Dr. Williamson is interested in accepting new doctoral students for Fall 2025.
Representative publications (underline = trainee, * = community or family partner):
Williamson, A. A., Min, J., *Fay, K., Cicalese, O., Meltzer, L.J., & Mindell, J.A. (2023). A multi-method evaluation of bed provision and sleep education for young children and their families living in poverty. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 19(9):1583-1594. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.10614. PMID: 37086055.
Williamson, A.A., Soehner, A.M., Boyd, R.C., Buysse, D.J., Harvey, A.G., Jonassaint, C.R., Franzen, P.L., Goldstein, T.R. (2022). A protocol for applying health equity-informed implementation science models and frameworks to adapt a sleep intervention for adolescents at risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Frontiers in Public Health, 10:971754. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.971754. PMID: 36311565.
Williamson, A. A., Okoroji, C., Cicalese, O., Evans, B. C., *Ayala, A., *Harvey, B., *Honore, R., Kratchman, A., Beidas, R. S., Fiks, A. G., Power T. J., & Mindell, J. A. (2022). Sleep Well!: An adapted behavioral sleep intervention implemented in urban primary care. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 18(4): 1153-1166. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.9822. PMID: 34910624 PMCID: PMC8974371
Williamson, A. A., Milaniak, I., Watson, B., Cicalese, O., Fiks, A. G., Power, T. J., Barg, F. K., Beidas, R. S., Mindell, J. A., & Rendle, K. A. (2020). Early childhood sleep intervention in urban primary care: Caregiver and clinician perspectives. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 45(8): 933-945. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jaa024.