Neuropsychiatric Genetics in African Populations: Lessons from the Past Decade and Future Directions

Over the past decade, the Neuropsychiatric Genetics of African Populations (NeuroGAP) initiative has transformed how scientists understand the genetic foundations of mental health. In this talk, Dr. Karestan Koenen will share insights from this landmark research effort, which spans Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda, and reflects deep collaboration across institutions and communities. She will discuss what the field has learned about neuropsychiatric disorders through more inclusive research, how these findings are reshaping global mental health science, and where the next decade of discovery may lead.

This event highlights Dr. Koenen’s research and perspectives on expanding the global reach of psychiatric genetics to advance equity and understanding in mental health science and will include time for audience Q&A. This event is free and open to the public.

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Speaker

Karestan Koenen, PhD

Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology; Director of the Population Health Lab at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Director of the Broad Trauma Initiative at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Karestan C. Koenen, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, epidemiologist, and author. She is Professor of Psychiatric Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health where she aims to reduce the population burden of mental disorders. Dr. Koenen directs the Broad Trauma Initiative at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard where she is an Institute Member. She is passionate about using science to overcome violence and trauma, which are major preventable causes of health problems globally.  She has written for the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, Thrive Global and Psychology Today.  Her most recent book is Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse and Interpersonal Trauma, Second Edition: STAIR Narrative Therapy with Drs. Marylene Cloitre, Kile Ortigo, Lisa Cohen and Christie Jackson.

Moderator

Gregory Fricchione, MD

Director, Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine; Director Emeritus, Division of Psychiatry and Medicine; Director Emeritus, Pierce Global Division of Psychiatry; MGH Department of Psychiatry; Co-Director, McCance Center for Brain Health, Department of Neurology; Mind Body Medicine Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.

A graduate of New York University School of Medicine and the NYU-Bellevue Psychiatry Residency and Chief Residency and the MGH Fellowship in Consultation Psychiatry, Dr Fricchione has served on the staffs of Stony Brook University, Auckland University in New Zealand, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.  From 2000 to 2002, he served as The Carter Center Mental Health Program Director for President and Mrs. Carter while on leave of absence from Harvard Medical School. He specializes in neuropsychiatry and psychosomatic medicine and for over 40 years has helped care for patients with severe medical, neurological and surgical illnesses as a Consult Liaison psychiatrist. He has published more than 350 peer reviewed publications and has authored or co-authored 6 books including the 2011 Compassion and Healing in Medicine: On the Nature and Uses of Attachment Solutions for Separation Challenges (Johns Hopkins University Press) and the 2016 The Science of Stress (University of Chicago Press). He is also the medical editor of the Harvard Medical School Special Report on Stress Management. His research interests include study of the catatonic syndrome, the neurophysiology of stress and resilience and how the comparative neurology of brain evolution illuminates our concepts of health and illness and medical caregiving. Dr. Fricchione was the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine ACLP Hackett Award winner in 2017.

About the Global Research and Innovation Speaker Series

The Harvard Global Health Institute’s Global Health Research and Innovation Speaker Series showcases the latest scholarly and scientific advancements in global health across Harvard and beyond, to make cutting-edge research accessible to a diverse global audience, and to spark innovative solutions in the pursuit of health equity and improved health outcomes worldwide. The public series takes place virtually on the second Tuesday of each month from 12:00 to 12:45 pm ET. Each session will include a presentation by a featured speaker showcasing their innovative research in global health, followed by a moderated Q&A.

The Harvard Global Health Institute provides a platform for different perspectives and debates within the field of global health through a variety of media. The views expressed in these events and programs are solely those of the speakers, authors, researchers, and participating audience. As such, they do not speak for the institute or the university.