Somer Bishop is a clinical psychologist and professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Bishop’s research and clinical interests focus on the assessment of social-communication and restricted and repetitive behaviors characteristic of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and how these symptom dimensions are affected by individual and contextual factors across the lifespan.

At UCSF, Bishop’s lab is focused on identifying and refining dimensional measures of ASD-related behavior that can be used to delineate phenotypic and etiologic similarities and differences between ASD and other developmental disorders, taking into account individual factors such as age, sex, IQ and language level. She is interested in developing trans-diagnostic tools that can be used in both clinical and research settings to assess profiles of social-communicative and other behavioral strengths and challenges across development in varied clinical populations (e.g., ASD, intellectual disability, ADHD). Her work has been funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Department of Defense and the Autism Science Foundation. She has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and serves on multiple journal editorial boards.

At the UCSF Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Bishop participates in comprehensive, multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of children and adults with ASD and related disorders. She directs the diagnostic training program, conducting multiple-day trainings on widely used autism diagnostic tools and best diagnostic practices for professionals from all over the world.