Danielle Ramo, Ph.D.
(she/her/hers)
Senior Director, Research / Staff
Dr. Danielle Ramo is Senior Director of Research at Hopelab, where she helps to oversee the design and implementation of research efforts across Hopelab’s projects. Danielle is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Weill Institute for Neurosciences at UC San Francisco and a licensed psychologist.
Dr. Ramo came to Hopelab in 2018 after six years on the faculty at UCSF, where she led a research program at the intersection of substance use and digital mental health. She has led multiple clinical trials testing the efficacy of a social media-based intervention to reduce substance use, and studies examining the toxicology of teen vaping, cannabis use in a changing policy landscape, and how substance use is shared on social media.
She has published over 85 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters on substance use, mental health, and technology, and received grants from the National Institutes of Health and the California Tobacco-Related Diseases Research Program. Dr. Ramo has written opinion pieces for outlets including Scientific American, the San Francisco Chronicle, and Thrive Global, and regularly speaks to teens, parents, and the media about mental health and substance use in young people in the digital age. Read more on her Psychology Today blog From Z to Alpha and on Twitter at @danielleramo.
Content written by Danielle Ramo, Ph.D.
Five ways the Nod app encourages lasting social connections, even during COVID-19.
Hopelab joined HackMentalHealth, Vinaj Ventures, and Second Muse to host a mentoring event for early-stage startups in the digital mental health space.
Mental health problems are not new—but the recognition that there is a huge unmet need in the area, and that technology can be part of the solution, is becoming more and more pervasive in the Bay Area.
Reflections on Hack Mental Health UCSF Mental Health Hackathon. Hacking for better solutions for mental health of young people.
What role is social media is playing in life expectancy issues for young people? Dr. Danielle Ramo, director of research operations weighs in.
At Hopelab we are using technology to support the emotional well-being of teens and young adults. People often ask me, “Isn’t technology part of the problem?
At Hopelab, we believe that the patient experience is invaluable to developing tools that will impact their lives. We involve patients in the early research, design, and evaluation of the digital tools we develop.
As a clinical psychologist and researcher in adolescent and young adult mental health, I have found that meeting young people where they are at (not where we want them to be) is a key element of successful interventions.