Congratulations to 2026 Outstanding Postdoctoral Award Recipient and Postdoc-as-Mentor Award Recipient, Dr. Julia Yarrington!

Postdoctoral Affairs is happy to announce the recipient of the 2026 Outstanding Postdoctoral Scholar Award and 2026 Postdoc-as-Mentor Award, Dr. Julia Yarrington! 

Dr. Julia Yarrington is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Psychology and a licensed clinical psychologist in the Personalized Treatment Lab. Her scholarly work focuses on increasing access to evidence-based mental health care through digital interventions for college students and training paraprofessionals to support their delivery through peer coaching. 

This year, Dr. Yarrington is the recipient of both the Outstanding Postdoc Award and the Postdoc-as-Mentor Award. The Outstanding Postdoc Award recognizes exceptional achievement in research innovation, productivity, communication, and leadership. Dr. Yarrington was selected for her pioneering work developing and implementing a digital therapy ecosystem and peer coaching program at the University of Arizona, her impressive record of 25 peer-reviewed publications and numerous conference presentations, and her ability to communicate her research to broad audiences, from community college stakeholders to international conference audiences. Her leadership spans grant writing, IRB development, and community partnership with Pima Community College. 

The Postdoc-as-Mentor Award honors postdoctoral scholars who provide intellectual leadership, foster independence, offer constructive feedback, and create supportive training environments for their mentees. Dr. Yarrington was recognized for her personalized, collaborative approach to mentoring doctoral students and undergraduates alike. Her nominating doctoral students describe their supervision meetings with her as "the highlight of their graduate training to date."