Alyson Kay Zalta

Biography

Alyson Kay Zalta, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Irvine. A clinical psychologist and researcher in the field of traumatic stress, Zalta has spent over two decades studying risk and resilience factors for posttraumatic psychopathology, with particular focus on military populations and survivors of sexual assault. Her research examines psychobiological mechanisms underlying trauma-related disorders and develops novel interventions, including morning light therapy for PTSD and mobile technology-based treatments for vulnerable populations.

Zalta has served as principal investigator or co-investigator on multiple federally or philanthropically funded research projects, including grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Defense Health Agency, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, and U.S. Department of Education. She was recognized by the American Psychological Association Division 56 with the Outstanding Contribution to Trauma Psychology by an Early Career Psychologist award in 2019. Her work has been published in over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles in journals including the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Depression and Anxiety.

Zalta received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed a predoctoral internship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and a postdoctoral fellowship in Trauma Psychology at Rush University Medical Center, where she subsequently served as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Research Director of the Road Home Program: The Center for Veterans and their Families. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in California.

Education

• Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 2012
• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Harvard University, 2004

Distinctions

• Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Fostering of Undergraduate Research, University of California, Irvine, 2026
• Chancellor's Award for Distinguished Fostering of Undergraduate Research, University of California, Irvine, 2024
• Outstanding Contribution to Trauma Psychology by an Early Career Psychologist, American Psychological Association Division 56, 2019
• Travel Award, American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017
• Dissertation Research Award, American Psychological Association, 2009
• Clinical Psychology of Women Student Research Award, APA, Sec IV, Div 12, 2008
• Elsie Ramos Memorial Student Research Award, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, 2007
• Forest & Honaker Master's Scholarship for Research in Psychology, American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, 2007
• Student Researcher Award, Women's Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, 2005