Karestan C. Koenen

Karestan C. Koenen is Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Associate Member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She also serves as Affiliated Faculty at the Harvard University Center for the Environment, advising students in Epidemiology and Social Behavioral Sciences.

• BA in Economics, Wellesley College
• MA in Developmental Psychology, Columbia University
• PhD in Clinical Psychology, Boston University
• Post-doctoral Fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology, Columbia University

Dr. Koenen's research focuses on three areas: (1) understanding PTSD resilience, (2) trauma's long-term physical health impacts, and (3) expanding access to evidence-based mental health treatments. Her work bridges genetics, global mental health, and trauma epidemiology, with recent studies on epigenetic aging, cognitive outcomes after trauma, and substance use comorbidities.

Her 2025 publications span psychiatric genetics, trauma neurobiology, and women's health, emphasizing machine learning, neuroimaging, and population-level interventions. Current projects include the Broad Trauma Initiative and NIMH-funded training programs.

• 2025 Junior Faculty Mentoring Award
• 2021 Pamela Sklar Innovation Award
• 2017 Distinguished Alumnae Award
• 2015 Robert S. Laufer Memorial Award

Dr. Koenen actively trains graduate students through the Trauma Epidemiology and Population Mental Health Research Group. She integrates advocacy into her work, having testified before Congress and consulted on documentaries about trauma, while publishing in outlets like the Boston Globe and Psychology Today. Her lab collaborates on mental health policy and global trauma research.