Hetrick is a clinical psychologist whose research focuses on the behavioral, cognitive and biological bases of substance use disorders, bipolar disorder and autism, as well as severe psychological disorders, such as schizophrenia. His lab has made significant contributions to understanding of the impact of schizophrenia spectrum disorders on learning, temporal processing and aberrations in cognition and perception. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from The Ohio State University, a master’s degree in experimental psychology from California State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Point Loma Nazarene College.