Our Members

Sarah Sperry, Ph.D., is the Richard Tam Early Career Professor of Translational Bipolar Research, assistant professor of Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, the director of the Emotion and Temporal Dynamics (EmoTe) Lab, and one of the key investigators within the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program. Her broad mission is to improve early detection, predict illness trajectory, and develop personalized interventions for bipolar spectrum disorders. Within this broader mission, she uses mobile technology (smartphones, wearable devices) and intensive longitudinal modeling to characterize and understand intraindividual variability in emotion and behavior in real-world contexts. This work will integrate seamlessly with the Prechter Longitudinal Study of Bipolar Disorder, which will allow her to continue to identify the affective and cognitive mechanisms underlying the development and maintenance of bipolar spectrum disorders. She hopes her work will integrate with the Bipolar Clinic, translating research findings into real-world interventions that improve the daily lives of people struggling.

Dr. Sperry earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where her research focused on characterizing the temporal dynamics of emotion and impulsivity in daily life. Dr. Sperry then completed her APA-accredited clinical residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in the Addiction Sciences Division and Sleep Treatment and Research Program, where she received both clinical and research training in co-occurring bipolar disorder, sleep disorders, and substance use disorders. Following residency, Dr. Sperry completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Sperry has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in the field of emotion, impulsivity, and bipolar disorder, presented at national and international scientific conferences, serves as a consulting editor at several premiere clinical psychology and personality journals, and was recently elected to the Early and Mid-Career Committee for the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD). Dr. Sperry is also actively involved in training and collaboration both within the University and internationally.