Megan M. Herting

Dr. Megan M. Herting is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and Director of the Herting NeuroImaging Laboratory. Her work focuses on neurodevelopmental impacts of environmental factors, particularly air pollution, and their effects on brain structure/function, mental health, and cognition in children/adolescents. She leads NIH-funded projects including the ABCD Study (U01 DA041048) and ECHO program collaborations. Key research themes include sex differences in neurodevelopment, environmental toxicology, and translational neuroimaging.

• Director of Herting NeuroImaging Lab
• Co-PI of Children's Hospital Los Angeles ABCD Study site
• Co-chair of ENIGMA Environment Working Group

Research interests combine advanced MRI techniques (structural/diffusion/fMRI) with behavioral assessments to explore how lifestyle and environmental exposures influence neurodevelopment. Notable studies investigate air pollution's role in prefrontal connectivity, emotional behavior, and brain morphology changes across adolescence.

Major grants include NIH R01 awards (ES031074, ES032295) and Health Effects Institute funding. Awards include the Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award (2020) and Rose Hills Foundation Grant (2019). Her lab collaborates with institutions globally to advance understanding of urban neurodevelopment and policy implications.