Dr. Messer received his Master's degree in General/Experimental Psychology at East Carolina University and completed his doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at the University of Mississippi. He completed his internship at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Messer received three NIMH Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Awards: Clinical Research Training for Psychologists at the University of Pittsburgh; Developmental Epidemiology and Mental Health Services Research at Duke University and the University of North Carolina, and; Developmental Psychopathology and Behavior Genetics at the George Washington University and the Children's National Medical Center.