Research
Neurogenetic disorders; neurobehavioral biomarkers of serious mental illness
Appointments
- Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Psychology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior Brain Research Institute
- Integrative Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics
- Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART)
- Director, Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS)
Biography
Her research aims to understand genetic and neurobiological risk factors for the development of early-onset neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr. Bearden’s work examines these questions through two complementary lines of research:
1) The investigation of early biomarkers that predict disease risk and trajectory in at-risk populations; and
2) Translational approaches to understanding disrupted brain circuitry in highly penetrant genetic subtypes (e.g, 22q11.2 microdeletions)
Publications
- Boltz, TA, Bot, M, Lapinska, S, Schwarz, T, Hou, K, Garske, KM et al.. Quantitative trait loci mapping of gene expression and chromatin accessibility in primary fibroblasts reveals shared allelic effects between Latin American and European ancestries. BMC Genomics. 2026; :. doi: 10.1186/s12864-026-13065-3. PubMed PMID:42343218 .
- Pham, D, Kennedy, L, Addington, J, Bearden, CE, Cannon, TD, Cornblatt, BA et al.. Exploring Group Differences in Attenuated Symptoms and Functioning Between Clinical High-Risk Individuals With and Without Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2026;20 (7):e70188. doi: 10.1111/eip.70188. PubMed PMID:42340325 PubMed Central PMC13292843.
- Forsyth, JK, Zhu, J, Chavannes, AS, Trevorrow, ZH, Hyat, M, Sievertsen, SA et al.. Association of Fetal Gene Regulatory Gene Deletions With Poor Cognition in Schizophrenia and Community-Based Samples. Am J Psychiatry. 2026; :appiajp20240779. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240779. PubMed PMID:42337417 .
- Bello, D, Blyth, SH, Rabin, RA, Addington, J, Bearden, CE, Cadenhead, K et al.. Cannabis and tobacco co-use predicts psychosis in clinical high risk cohorts. Nat Ment Health. 2026;4 (6):941-950. doi: 10.1038/s44220-026-00648-y. PubMed PMID:42291778 PubMed Central PMC13259916.
- Wang, HR, Schleifer, CH, Liu, ZQ, McKinney, RA, Boen, R, Amir, CM et al.. Symptom Dimension-Specific Neurotransmitter Correlates of Psychopathology and Cognition in Early Psychosis. bioRxiv. 2026; :. doi: 10.64898/2026.06.03.729892. PubMed PMID:42282719 PubMed Central PMC13251985.