Dr. Streissguth is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She received her masters degree in child development from the University of California at Berkeley, and her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Washington. Dr. Streissguth is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty in behavioral teratology. She has worked with patients with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) and their families and their communities for 30 years.

The Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit, which Dr. Streissguth founded, has investigated many types of prenatal influences on later development in offspring including alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, aspirin, acetaminophen, and rubella virus. Prior to this work she studied the impact of poverty, preschool and caretaking experiences on child development. In all, she has published over 160 scientific papers, three books, and a slide-teaching curriculum on Alcohol and Pregnancy. Her most recent books are: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Guide for Families and Communities, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. and The Challenge of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Overcoming Secondary Disabilities, University of Washington Press.

Dr. Streissguth and her colleagues have been actively involved in research on preventing FAS and FAE. In 1978, she collaborated with Dr. Ruth Little in a 3-year federally funded project to develop methods to intervene in female alcohol abuse during pregnancy and prevent FAS. In 1989, Dr. Streissguth and colleagues developed and evaluated the impact of a model advocacy program ("Birth to 3") for helping high-risk women for three years after an alcohol or drug exposed pregnancy. This program now called the Parent-Child Assistance Program (P-CAP) and under the direction of Dr. Therese Grant, has been funded at four Washington sites by the State Legislature since 1997 and replicated at 12 sites in other states and Canada. For the past 18 years, Dr. Streissguth and colleagues have worked with Native American Communities and the Indian Health Service to provide FAS workshops and direct consultations to American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Since 1974, Dr. Streissguth has been the principal investigator of the Seattle Study on Alcohol and Pregnancy (a longitudinal prospective study of the long-term effects of social drinking during pregnancy) funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). This ongoing study finds long-term neurobehavioral consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure and recently won an NIH Merit Award. In 1992 she began a major research project funded by the Centers for Disease Control on secondary disabilities in patients with FAS and FAE and associated risk and protective factors, which culminated in an international conference in Seattle in 1996. Most recently Streissguth, Dr. Fred Bookstein and colleagues developed morphometric/neuropsychological methods of detecting adolescents and adults with FAS/FAE from MRI and neuropsychological test performance.

In 1985, Dr. Streissguth was co-recipient with Dr. Paul Lemoine of France of the International Jellinek Memorial Award for Advancement in the Field of Alcohol Studies. In 1987, with Dr. Ruth Little, she received an award for outstanding contributions from the American Medical Society on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies. In 1992, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence presented the Silver Key Award to Dr. Streissguth for her "outstanding contribution and research on FAS and FAE". In 1997 she was awarded the University of Washington Outstanding Public Service Award; and the KINDER award for outstanding contributions to the well-being of children at risk from the University of Texas. In 1998 she received the Rosett Award for her outstanding contributions to FAS research. In 2000 she was honored by the New York State office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse with one of their eight "Women of the Century" Awards. In 2002 the American Psychological Foundation awarded her a Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement for Psychology in the Public Interest. In 2003 the National Organization on FAS presented her their Excellence Award for her dedication and pioneering contributions to the fight against FAS. Most recently, she was selected by the Neurobehavioral Society, the Teratology Society and the Toxicology Society for the 2003 "Decade of Behavior" Distinguished Lectureship, given June 2003.