Alison Darcy, Ph.D

Founder & President at Woebot Health

Alison is a clinical research psychologist and health tech visionary dedicated to creating intelligent, engaging and relatable mental healthcare solutions that improve outcomes. Her work to explore how digital treatments can help solve human problems began more than 20 years ago, when she created one of the first online support groups for people with eating disorders. That work led to PhD level studies in psychology at UCD and post-doctoral training at Stanford School of Medicine and with the American Psychiatric Association. At Stanford, Alison also worked with AI pioneer Andrew Ng to explore the intersection of AI and healthcare, leading his Health Innovation Lab in Computer Science. Alison was recently named to the TIME100 AI List, which recognizes the 100 most influential individuals advancing AI, and received the 2023 UCD Alumni Award in Social Sciences. She has authored more than 40 publications and has been awarded research grants and contracts from the NIH, the Davis Foundation and APA. Alison is also currently an Adjunct Faculty member in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Department of Stanford’s School of Medicine.