Bio
Avital Fischer’s work focuses on the relationship between stress and wellbeing. She has expertise in women’s mental health, physician wellbeing, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other stress-related disorders. Her current research focuses on the impact of war-related stress on partners of reservists in Israel. The Invisible Warriors Study is a longitudinal prospective study following nearly 400 women to examine predictors of wellbeing under chronic stress in Israel. She is particularly interested in interventions that focus on the partner as the primary attachment figure of the reservist and their potential to improve PTSD outcomes for both members of the dyad. She has experience working with patients with PTSD related to a range of traumatic experiences, with particular expertise in war- and terror-related trauma through her clinical work with this population at Sheba Medical Center in Israel.
Avital is also an advocate for physician wellbeing and for supporting successful and fulfilling careers in medicine while reducing burnout. She is particularly interested in how to sustain self-compassion and interpersonal relationships during medical training, promote a culture of wellness at the institutional level, and address the specific challenges faced by women in medicine. She has worked with Stanford residents, fellows, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars through her clinical work and her experience as a Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) facilitator.
