NIAAA Staff Profile

Child abuse and neglect; Family-based prevention; Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD); Prevention among pregnant and postpartum people; Prevention among women; Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment

Dr. Balachova is a clinical psychologist and Program Officer/Health Scientist Administrator in the Division of Epidemiology and Prevention Research, NIAAA, NIH. She earned Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry from the Bekhterev Psychoneurological Research Institute/Leningrad State University in Russia. She completed her postdoctoral training in Pediatric Psychology and Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in 2001. 

Dr. Balachova joined the NIAAA program staff in May 2019 after completing a two-year Senior Scientist appointment at NIAAA through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC), where she was Professor of Pediatrics and Co-Director of the Interdisciplinary Training Program in Child Abuse and Neglect. Prior to joining NIAAA, Dr. Balachova had over 20 years of experience in research on AUD, FASD, child maltreatment, and HIV/AIDS and health risk behaviors in women. She administered research and training programs and consulted with professional organizations, including the World Health Organization, the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN), and American Academy of Pediatrics. 

At NIAAA, Dr. Balachova is appointed Scientific Coordinator and Executive Secretary of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (ICCFASD) and manages a portfolio of grants on epidemiology and prevention research.