Angela Kay Lawson, Ph.D.

Angela K. Lawson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics; Gynecology and Psychiatry at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Lawson joined the faculty at Northwestern in 2008 where she is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in women’s reproductive and emotional health. She also conducts research on the psychological aspects of infertility. Dr. Lawson serves as a past Chair of the Executive Committee of the Mental Health Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. She has also served on the Northwestern University Faculty Senate and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Intimate Partner Violence Task Force. Dr. Lawson has worked as a forensic consultant at Fitzgerald, Collinsworth and Associates since 2004. She has received extensive training in the administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological measures and in conducting psychosocial and structured diagnostic interviews. Her research interests include reporting sexual assault and harassment, the psychological effect of litigating sexual harassment, and psychological testing in forensic assessment. She has presented her research in multiple professional venues. Dr. Lawson has previously been deposed in her role as a forensic consultant, has testified as an expert, and is experienced in deposition consultation and in drafting rebuttal reports.

Angela K. Lawson, Ph.D. Forensic Consultant Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Angela K. Lawson, Ph.D.
Forensic Consultant
Licensed Clinical Psychologist

CONTACT INFORMATION

Business Address:
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology & Psychiatry
Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
259 E. Erie, Ste. 2400 , Chicago, IL 60611

Business Phone: 312-695-5082
Fax: 312-695-4924
Email: alawsonphd@gmail.com

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

INSTITUTIONAL SERVICE (Committees, Councils, Task Forces)

2004-2006
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL Student Action Committee, Clinical/Community Psychology
2006-2007
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL Housestaff Association
2006-2008
Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL Chair Search Committee, Department of Behavioral Sciences
2009-2012
American Society for Reproductive Medicine Electronic Communications Committee, Mental Health Professional Group
2011-2012
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Interpersonal Violence Taskforce, Department of OBGYN
2011-2015
Northwestern University Faculty Senate, Chicago, IL 2011-2013 - Social Responsibilities Committee 2013-2015 - Secure Faculty Survey Committee
2011-present
Northwestern University Medical Scholars Program, Chicago, IL Mentor, Westinghouse College Prep

2012-2019

American Society for Reproductive Medicine Executive Committee, Mental Health Professional Group October 2012-2013 - Secretary October 2013-2014 - Vice-Chair October 2014-2015 - Chair-Elect October 2015-present - Chair
2013-2014
American Society for Reproductive Medicine Scientific Program Committee
2013-present
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program, Clinical Training Committee

2013-2017

American Society for Reproductive Medicine Midwest Region Education Committee Chair, Mental Health Professional Group

TEACHING (past and present)

Fall 2001
Teaching Assistant, Sexual Harassment in Organizations University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (3 hour/week, 16 weeks)
Summer 2002
Instructor, Abnormal Psychology (4 hours/week, 4 weeks) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2007-2008
Introduction to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Systems of Psychotherapy and Assessment and Teaching Conference Series, Department of Psychiatry, Rush Univ. Medical Center, Chicago, IL. (1 hour/week, 3 weeks)
2009-2010
Licensure in Psychology, Professional Issues Seminar, Dept. of Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. (1 hour/week, 2 weeks)
2010-2011
CBT for Infertility. Cognitive Behavior Therapy Seminar, Dept. of Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. (1 hour/week, 2 weeks)
2012-2015
The Psychological Consequences of Infertility. Health Psychology Seminar Series. Northwestern University, Psychology Graduate Program, Chicago, IL. (1 hour/week, 5 weeks)
2014-2015
Let’s Talk about Sex (or a lack thereof): Female Sexual Dysfunction. Reproduction/GU Module for M2 medical students. Northwestern Univ., Chicago, IL. (1 hour/week, 2 weeks)

TRAINEES

Fall 2013-present
Colleen Stiles, Ph.D. candidate, Northwestern University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

REVIEW RESPONSIBILITIES

2010-present
Journal of Psychosomatic Research
2014-present
Journal of Reproductive Health
2015-present
BMC Women's Health
2015-present
Fertility and Sterility
2015-present
Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
2015-present
Human Reproduction

EDUCATION

July 1999
B.S.
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Double Major (Psychology and Sociology) Criminology Certificate
December 2003
M.A.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Clinical Psychology
June 2007
Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Clinical Psychology

TRAINING

June 2006-June 2007
Rush University Medical Center, Dep. of Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, IL APA approved Health Psychology Internship
July 2007-August 2008
Rush University Medical Center, Dep. of Behavioral Sciences, Chicago, IL APA approved Health Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship

LICENSURE

August 2008-present
Licensed Psychologist, Illinois (071.007580)

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

July 2007-August 2008
Instructor, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL Department of Behavioral Sciences

September 2008-2017

September 2017-present

Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry
Associate Professor, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Psychiatry

HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS

September 2008-present
Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL

OTHER EMPLOYMENT

August 2004-present
Forensic Expert/Consultant: Fitzgerald, Collinsworth and Associates, Chicago, IL Qualified as an expert witness in federal and state court and conducts psychological evaluations of plaintiffs involved in sexual harassment and other litigation alleging emotional distress.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

American Psychological Association American Society of Reproductive Medicine

HONORS AND CERTIFICATES

1996
Golden Key National Honor Society
1997
Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology
1997
Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society
2002-2006
Department of Defense Research Consortium Fellow
2003
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, Department of psychology Travel Grant for the APA’s 111th Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada
2005
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, Department of Psychology Travel Grant for the Association for Women in Psychology 30th Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida
2013
Second Place Prize Oral Presentation. Gerber, S. E. & Lawson, A. K. APGO-CREOG meeting in Phoenix, AZ.
2014
Mentor of the Year, Northwestern Medicine Scholars Program
2014
MHPG Prize Oral Presentation Childress, K. J., Lawson, A. K., Ghant, M. S., Mendoza, G., Steinberg, M. L., Confino, E., Marsh, E. E. American Society for Reproductive Medicine Conference in Honolulu, HI.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

1. Lawson, A. K., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2003, August). Reporting Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: The Influence of Stimulus, Organizational, and Individual Variables. In L. F. Fitzgerald’s (Chair), Sexual Harassment Research in the Military: Methodological and Substantive Advances symposium conducted at the APA’s 111th Annual Conference, Toronto, Canada.

2. Lawson, A. K., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2003, November). Understanding Responses to Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military. In T. W. Elig’s (Chair), Sexual Harassment in the Military: Recent Research Findings symposium conducted at the International Military Testing Association Conference, Pensacola, Florida.

3. Lawson, A. K. (2005, March). Having Your Day in Court: The Effect of Litigation on the Psychological and Health-Related Outcomes of Sexual Harassment Complainants. In L. L. Collinsworth’s (Chair), Making Matters Worse: Factors Affecting the Outcome of Trauma Survivors symposium conducted at the Association for Women in Psychology 30th Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida.

4. Fitzgerald, L. F., & Lawson, A. K. (2005, June). Proving Emotional Distress and Damages in Sexual Harassment Housing Cases. In L. L. Collinsworth’s (Chair), Private Troubles, Public Issues: Sexual Harassment under the Fair Housing Act symposium conducted at Law & Society Annual Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada.

5. Lawson, A. K., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2005, August). The Consequences of Reporting: Does Partial Reporting Make a Difference? In L. L. Collinsworth’s (Chair), Innovations in Sexual Harassment Research in the Military symposium conducted at the APA Annual Convention, Washington, DC.

6. Fitzgerald, L. F., Ormerod, A. J., Collinsworth, L. L., Lawson, A. K., Lytell, M., Perry, L. A., & Wright, C. V. (2005, November). The Measurement of Sexual Harassment in the United States Armed Forces: A Model Program of Research. In A. Lancaster (Chair), symposium conducted at the International Military Testing Association 47th Annual Conference, Singapore.

7. Ormerod, A. J., Fitzgerald, L. F., Collinsworth, L. L., Lawson, A. K., Lytell, M., Perry, L. A., & Wright, C. V. (2005, November). Sexual Assault in the Military: Context Factors and Measurement Issues. In A. Lancaster (Chair), symposium conducted at the International Military Testing Association 47th Annual Conference, Singapore.

8. Fitzgerald, L. F., Collinsworth, L. L., Larson, S., Lawson, A. K., Perry, L. A., & Wright, C. V. (2006, May). Contribution of Previous Victimization to MMPI-2 Clinical and RC Scale Profiles of Sexual Harassment Plaintiffs. Paper presented at the annual symposium on Recent Developments of the MMPI-2/MMPI-A, Minneapolis, MN.

9. Lawson, A. K., Wright, C. V., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2006, May). Comparing Apples to Oranges? An Examination of the Restructured Clinical Scales with Sexual Harassment Litigants. In the 2006 Annual Symposium on Recent Developments on the MMPI-2/MMPI-A, Minneapolis, MN.

10. Lawson, A. K. (2007, March). Sexual Harassment in the Courts: To Litigate or Not to Litigate, That is the Question. In L. L. Collinsworth’s (Chair), Litigating Sexual Harassment Claims: The Multifaceted Experiences of Female Employees at a National Firm symposium conducted at the Association for Women in Psychology 32nd Annual Conference, San Francisco, California.

11. Fitzgerald, L. F., Larsen, S. E., & Lawson, A. K. (2009, April). Measuring Sexual Harassment: Can We Capture the Legal Standard? In L. Fitzgerald (Chair), New Perspectives in Sexual Harassment Measurement: Theoretical and Empirical Innovations. Symposium to be presented at the 24th Annual Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference in New Orleans, LA.

12. Larsen, S., Lawson, A. K., Braun, K. D., & Collinsworth, L. L. (2009, August). Managing the Manager: Sexual Harassment in Housing. In L. L. Collinsworth (Chair), I Simply Wanted him to Stop: Coping with Sexual Harassment symposium conducted at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association in Toronto, Canada.

13. Lawson, A. K. & Klock, S. C. (2009, October). Known vs. Anonymous Oocyte Donors: An Update on Participation in Oocyte Donation. Conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia.

14. Fitzgerald, L. F., Larsen, S. E., Wright, C. V., Collinsworth, L. L., & Lawson, A. K. (2009, November). Sexual Harassment and PTSD: Toward a Model of Harm and Recovery. In S. E. Larsen’s (Chair), Sexual Harassment and PTSD: Onset, Recovery, and Process symposium conducted at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia.

15. Lawson, A. K., Klock, S. C., & Levy, D. (2011, October). Comparability of the MMPI-2 and PAI in Third Party Reproduction Psychological Evaluation. Poster session conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Orlando, FL.

16. Lawson, A. K. & Klock, S. C. (2011, October). Emotional Distress and Premature Treatment Termination in IUI Patients. Conducted at the Chicago Association of Reproductive Endocrinologists October 2011 meeting.

17. Lawson, A. K., Klock, S. C., Pavone, M. E., Hirshfeld-Cytron, J., Smith, K. N., & Kazer, R. R. (2012, October). Psychosocial Issues in Female Fertility Preservation Patients. Poster session conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in San Diego, CA.

18. Smith, K. N., Pavone, M. E., Hirshfeld-Cytron, J., Lawson, A. K., Kazer, R. R., & Klock, S. C. (2012, November). Fertility Preservation Outcomes may Differ by Cancer Diagnosis. Poster session conducted at the annual Critical Mass: Young Adult Cancer Alliance Conference in Atlanta, GA.

19. Gerber, S. E. & Lawson, A. K. (2103, February). Depression and Anxiety Among Obstetrics & Gynecology PGY-1 Residents. Conducted at the annual APGO-CREOG meeting in Phoenix, Arizona. Prize for second best oral presentation.

20. Milad, E. A., Lawson, A. K., & Milad, M. P. (2013, February). Stalking in a Medical Residency Program. Poster session conducted at the annual APGO-CREOG meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.

21. Lawson, A. K. (2013, September). National Physicians Cooperative working lunch presentation on mental health professionals’ role in fertility preservation. 2013 Oncofertility Conference: Cancer and Fertility around the Globe. Chicago, IL.

22. Lawson, A. K., Klock, S. C., Smith, K. N., Pavone, M. E., Hirschfeld-Cytron, J. (2013, October). A Prospective Study of Depression and Anxiety among Fertility Preservation and IVF patients. Oral presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston, MA.

23. Pavone, M. E., Hirschfeld-Cytron, J., Lawson, A. K., Smith, K. N., Klock, S. C. (2013, October). Sleep Disturbances High in Patients Seeking Fertility Preservation. Poster presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston, MA.

24. Ghant, M. S., Lawson, A. K., Childress, K. J., Confino, E., Marsh, E. E. (2013, October). Racial Differences in Anxiety, Appraisal and Knowledge of Infertility Treatment during the First Infertility Visit. Oral presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston, MA.

25. Childress, K. J., Lawson, A. K., Ghant, M. S., Cardozo, E. R., Confino, E., Marsh, E. E. (2013, October). Is Knowledge Power or is Ignorance Bliss? The Impact of Infertility Related Knowledge on Patient Anxiety and Appraisal of Treatment. Poster presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston, MA.

26. Childress, K. J., Lawson, A. K., Ghant, M. S., Mendoza, G., Steinberg, M. L., Confino, E., Marsh, E. E. (2014, October). Toward an Ideal Patient Experience: Longitudinal Assessment of Patient Knowledge, Experience, and Reasons for Discontinuation of Infertility Treatment. MHPG Prize oral presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Honolulu, HI.

27. Lawson, A. K., McGuire, J., Noncent, E., Olivieri, J., Smith, K. N., Marsh, E. E. (2014, October). Disparities in Counseling Female Cancer Patients for Fertility Preservation: Adding Insult to Injury? Oral presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Honolulu, HI.

28. Ghant, M. S., Lawson, A. K., Sengoba, K. S., Recht, H., Marsh E. E. (2014, October). Beyond the Physical: A Qualitative Assessment of the Emotional Burden of Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids on Women's Mental Health. Poster presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Honolulu, HI.

29. Noncent, E., Mendoza, G., Lawson, A.K., Brannigan, R.E., Marsh, E.E. (November, 2014). Racial and Ethnic Contributions to the Male Infertility Treatment Experience. Poster presentation conducted at The Area of Scholarly Concentration (AOSC) Poster Presentation Day at Northwestern University in Chicago, IL.

30. Mendoza, G., Lawson, A.K., Marsh, E. E. (April, 2015). What Drives Engagement?: Using Women’s Feedback to Build an Academic Medical Center (AMC)-Faith Based Organization (FBO) Research Partnership to Improve Health. Poster presentation conducted at Women’s Health 2015: The 23rd Annual Congress in Washington, DC.

31. Mendoza, G., Lawson, A.K., Ghant, M., Sengoba, K., Confino, E., Marsh, E. E. (October, 2015). Seeing Red: Impaired Quality of Life in Women with Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids. Poster presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Baltimore, MD.

32. Wong, J. M., Lawson, A.K., Lanham, M., Fisseha, S., Moravek, M.B. (October, 2015). A Cry for Help: The Relationship between Perceived Social Support and Quality Of Life in Infertility Patients. Poster presentation conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Baltimore, MD.

33. Lawson, A.K. (Novembers, 2015). Blurring the Line between Life and Death: Counseling Fertility Preservation Patients about the Psychological and Ethical Issues of Posthumous Reproduction. Poster presentation conducted at the annual Oncofertility Consortium Conference in Chicago, IL.

INVITED LECTURES

April 2008 - Learning Theory and Health Behavior Change, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL

May 2009 - Clinical Research Seminar, Dept. of Psychiatry, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

September 2011 - Psychological Issues Related to Infertility, Dept. of OBGYN, Resident Didactics, Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

October 2011 - Interpersonal Violence (IPV): History and Screening. REI Didactics, Dept. of OBGYN. Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

January 2012 - The Sexual Harassment of Patients and their Providers, Dept. of OBGYN Grand Rounds, Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

August 2013 - Psychological Aspects of Fertility Preservation. 2013 Oncofertility Consortium Conference. Virtual Grand Rounds.

September 2013 - Psychological Aspects of Fertility Preservation. Clinic 101: Building a Fertility Preservation and National Physicians
Cooperative Program. 2013 Oncofertility Consortium Conference. Working Lunch.

October 2013 - Psychosocial Issues and Counseling of Adult Fertility Preservation Patients. Roundtable presentation conducted at
the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Boston, MA.

July 2014 - Stress/Mood Management. Northwestern Medicine Scholars Summer Intensive Program.
Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

October 2014 - Ethical and Psychological Issues of Posthumous Assisted Reproduction (PAR). In A.K. Lawson (Chair), Blurring the
Line Between Life and Death: The Psychological, Ethical, and Legal Issues of Posthumous Reproduction CME
symposium conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in Honolulu, HI.

February 2015 - Learning to Love the Dandelions: Stress/Mood Management in Fellowship, Dept. of OBGYN Fellowship Lecture
Series. Northwestern University, Chicago, IL.

June 2015 - Psychological Issues Related to Infertility, Dept. of OBGYN, Resident Didactics, Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

July 2015 - Psychological Issues Related to Infertility and Infertility Treatment, Northwestern Medicine Westinghouse
Scholars Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL.

October 2015 - Stress, Mind, Body: Coping with Cancer. Survive and Thrive: Ovarian Cancer Public Education. Chicago, IL.

October 2015 - Sticky Situations in Surrogacy: From Contract Formations to Birth. CLE presentation at the AARTA Annual
Conference. Chicago, IL.

October 2015 - Helping Patients Cope with the Psychological and Medical Sequelae of Recurrent Pregnancy Loss. In A.K. Lawson
(Co-Chair), Post-Graduate CME Course conducted at the annual convention of the American Society for
Reproductive Medicine in Baltimore, MD.

November 2015 - Fertility Preservation in Transgender Patients. In the Gender Dysphoria Panel conducted at the annual Oncofertility
Consortium Conference in Chicago, IL.