Kate Harkness

Dr. Kate Harkness is a Professor and Department Head in the Department of Psychology at Queen's University. She holds a B.Sc. (Honors) from the University of Toronto (1993), M.S. from the University of Oregon (1995), and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon (1998). Her research focuses on the interplay between early trauma, stress physiology, and major depression across the lifespan, particularly examining neurohormonal mechanisms, social cognition deficits, and reward processing abnormalities. Key areas include childhood maltreatment's impact on hippocampal structure, endocannabinoid systems, and antidepressant treatment outcomes. She leads the CAN-BIND program exploring biomarkers for depression and has published extensively on stress generation models and interpersonal dynamics in depression. Dr. Harkness' work integrates clinical, neurobiological, and psychological perspectives to advance understanding of depression recurrence and treatment resistance.