Psychiatric Epidemiology

What is the lifetime prevalence of depression in the U.S.? Why do some people develop PTSD following trauma while others remain resilient? How do genetics, childhood experiences, social conditions, and public policy shape mental health across populations? These are the kinds of questions psychiatric epidemiology seeks to answer. 

Psychiatric epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health investigates the causes, distribution, and prevention of mental disorders and promotes population mental health. Faculty, students, and fellows examine biological, psychological, social, and structural determinants of mental health across the life course. Their work informs prevention, intervention, policy, and public health practice in the United States and globally. 

The Harvard Chan School offers specialized coursework, interdisciplinary research training, and applied learning opportunities that prepare students to become leaders in psychiatric epidemiology and population mental health. 

Highlights of the program include:

Population Mental Health Concentration 

A dedicated interdisciplinary concentration in Population Mental Health prepares students to understand the causes and consequences of mental disorders while developing the skills needed to improve mental health at the population level through research, policy, and practice. 

Research Community 

Students join a vibrant community of faculty conducting research across psychiatric epidemiology. Research spans: 

• trauma, violence, and PTSD 
• resilience and positive mental health
• psychiatric genetics and genomics 
• Alzheimer’s disease and dementia 
• brain development across the life course 
• stigma, discrimination, and structural determinants of mental health
• social relationships, emotions, and physical health 
• development and evaluation of interventions to improve population mental health 

Population Mental Health Lab

Led by faculty area director Karestan Koenen, the Population Mental Health Lab serves as a hub for interdisciplinary research, training, and public engagement. Students and postdoctoral fellows work alongside faculty and collaborators on projects spanning trauma and violence, PTSD, psychiatric genomics, resilience, aging, and innovative interventions designed to improve population mental health. The lab is also home to the Broad Trauma Initiative, which investigates the biological and social mechanisms through which trauma, particularly in childhood, influences mental and physical health across the life course. 

Interdisciplinary Collaboration 

Faculty and trainees collaborate across the Departments of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Global Health and Population, and Social and Behavioral Sciences, as well as with investigators throughout Harvard and affiliated hospitals. 

Learn more about our faculty below: