Dr. Areán is a leading behavioral scientist, with an expertise cross-cultural mental health, geriatric psychology, assessment and treatment of depression and anxiety, and in the use of technology to conduct surveys, user experience research and clinical trials to scale.

Dr. Areán’s work focuses on creating and evaluating efficient, targeted and portable behavioral interventions for health and mental health problems. She use a combination of cognitive neuroscience, behavioral psychology, systems of care, and technology to improve mental health care and how it is delivered to all populations, in particular under-served communities such as older adults.

Dr. Areán was the founding director of the UW ALACRITY Center. At the University of Washington, she also directed the CREATIV Lab and the MHATS Digital Laboratory. Dr. Areán has also been the Director, Division of Services and Interventions Research, at the National Institute of Mental Health.