Ashley Watts wins 2025 APS Taylor Spence Award
Vanderbilt University researcher, Ashley Watts, in the Department of Psychology, has been named a recipient of the 2025 APS Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions, recognizing her innovative work in understanding the complex relationship between psychopathology and addiction.Watts, who completed her PhD at Emory University in 2018, is one of seven early-career scientists selected for this prestigious honor. Her research stands out for its interdisciplinary approach, incorporating methods from developmental and adult psychopathology, behavioral and molecular genetics, quantitative modeling, psychometrics, and psychiatric epidemiology. Watts’ critical examination of traditional psychiatric classification systems challenges conventional frameworks, advocating for more nuanced, theory-driven models that better capture the complexity of psychological disorders. Her work has important implications for understanding addiction and its development.
“Her long-term research goals include developing comprehensive models that bridge the gap between human and animal research,” noted the APS selection committee. “This work is particularly significant as it aims to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying addiction, potentially leading to more effective treatment approaches.”
The Janet Taylor Spence Award, established in 2010 and named after APS’s first president, recognizes creative and promising APS members who are actively shaping the future of psychological science. As part of this recognition, Watts will be automatically conferred status as an APS Fellow in the next review cycle. Watts will be honored at the 2025 APS Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. this May, where they will have the opportunity to present their groundbreaking research to the psychological science community.