Jeffery Swanson, Ph.D.

Jeffrey Swanson, Ph.D., is Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Duke University School of Medicine and was a Visiting Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale University. 

Dr.  Swanson is a social scientist who collaborates across disciplines to build evidence for policies and laws to improve outcomes for adults with serious mental illnesses and to reduce violence and suicide. He has authored more than 200 research publications on subjects including the social environmental context of violent behavior in conjunction with mental illness, implementation of state firearm restrictions related to mental health adjudications, effectiveness of involuntary outpatient commitment, and psychiatric advance directives. Dr. Swanson led the research group that published the first empirical evaluations of risk-based, temporary firearm removal laws in Indiana and Connecticut, precursors to Extreme Risk Protection Order laws that were later adopted in many states.