The mission of the PMS, Perinatal, and Postpartum Research Program is to conduct innovative research on women’s mental health with a focus on premenstrual syndrome(PMS), a more severe form of PMS known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression and depression during pregnancy, substance abuse in pregnancy, as well as the public health significance of prevention of mental illness in women and
children. The goal of the conducted research is to address critical unanswered questions which can inform clinical care, improve the lives of women and their families, and improve access to mental healthcare for women. PMS, Perinatal, and Postpartum Research Program Faculty 
Dr. Yonkers received her BA from Amherst College in 1979 and her MD from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1986. After completing her residency in psychiatry at McLean Hospital, she completed a Fellowship in neuroscience at Harvard University. After serving as Associate Professor at in Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She joined the faculty of Yale School of Medicine in 1999 as Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and was promoted to Professor in 2009. Dr. Yonkers is nationally recognized as a leader in the area of treatment of mood disorders surrounding pregnancy and the menstrual cycle. Dr. Yonkers' research interests center on women's health issues especially the intersection between psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology. She is currently exploring effective treatment options for premenstrual dysphoric disorder and investigating the impact that psychiatric illnesses (mood, anxiety and substance use disorders) have on birth outcomes such as preterm delivery and low birth weight. Dr. Yonkers is author of Depression in Women and coeditor of Mood Disorders in Women and Management of Psychiatric Illness in Pregnancy. Her articles have been published in professional journals, including Journal of the American Medicine Association, Journal of Psychiatric Research, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Sleep, and The American Journal of Psychiatry. 
The basis of my clinical research work is my belief that the successful
prevention of poor childhood outcomes requires an alternative
understanding of women’s mental and physical health problems beginning
in the preconception period. Mental and physical illness, I believe, should be conceptualized as constructs in dynamic relation to the
social, historical, cultural, economic, and political context in which
families reside. This framework has driven my research thus far in
specific projects related to the psychiatric and social epidemiology of depression in pregnancy and prevention of mental illness in women and
children. 
The intersection between the brain and behavior is something that has interested me throughout my educational and professional development. The overarching goal of my research is to narrow the gap in our understanding of the effect of substance abuse and reproductive hormones on the psychophysiology of women throughout their reproductive years.
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