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        Karestan C. Koenen, Ph.D.

Karestan C. Koenen is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Society, Human Development, and Health and Epidemiology, with expertise and experience in developmental psychology and psychiatric epidemiology.  She is currently PI of an NIMH funded Career Development (K08) Award that uses a developmental epidemiologic approach to examining the joint action of genotype and childhood environment in the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other stress-related mental disorders.  Her work has focused on understanding the role of genetic and environmental risk factors in the development of PTSD and its comorbidity with psychiatric and substance use disorders.  She is currently conducting a family- based association study aimed at identifying polymorphisms associated with onset and course of post-traumatic psychopathology using a genotype by environment interaction framework.  Dr. Koenen is also licensed clinical psychologist and an experienced clinician, specializing
in empirically-validated short- term treatments for PTSD.