Current Lab Members
Kathryn Paige Harden, PhD
Principal Investigator
Kathryn Paige Harden, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas, where she directs the Developmental Behavior Genetics lab and is the Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. She is a graduate of Furman University (2003) and the University of Virginia (2009). In addition to research, Paige teaches “Introduction to Psychology” as a synchronous massive online class. Her first book, The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality (Princeton), was named one of the best books of 2021 by The Economist magazine and has been translated into eight languages. She is currently working on a new book, Original Sin, to be published by Random House. Paige lives in Austin with her husband, three children, and dog (who also participates in genetic research). You can read her profile in The New Yorker here.
Dr. Harden is not accepting graduate students for the 2025-2026 school year.
Abby deSteiguer, MSc, MA
Graduate Student
Abby deSteiguer, BS, MSc, MA is a PhD student in the Clinical Psychology program at UT Austin. She received her Master of Science in Global Mental Health from the joint program at King’s College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and her Master of Arts in Psychology from UT Austin. Abby uses epigenetic methods to study how early life experiences shape trajectories of development and later-life health, with a particular focus on adversity during childhood and adolescence. She is interested in how exogenous changes (i.e. socioeconomic disruption & instability, trauma) and endogenous factors (i.e. puberty, mental health) are “biologically embedded.”Her current projects focus on longitudinal stability of DNA-methylation profiles of biological aging during childhood and adolescence, on epigenetic changes related to puberty, and on identifying biosocial pathways that link early life socioeconomic contexts and poverty to lifespan development.
Diego Londono-Correa, MSc
Graduate Student
Diego holds a BSc (Hons) in Biology from the University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia, and an Erasmus Mundus MSc in Evolutionary Biology (MEME Programme) from LMU Munich and Uppsala University. During his studies, he worked on research projects related to human population genetics, evolutionary anthropology, evolutionary genomics, and bioinformatics. He joined the Harden Lab as a PhD student to pursue his interest in integrating behavioral genetics methods with evolutionary approaches on human behavior. One of his projects examined how certain regions of the human genome associated with neuropsychiatric disorders exhibit both positive and negative associations with different cognitive domains (such as fluid versus crystallized intelligence) and personality traits (like openness to experience and conscientiousness). His current main project investigates how genomic regions associated with reproduction and externalizing behaviors in contemporary populations have evolved over human history using Ancient DNA. In his free time, Diego enjoys playing video games and board games, watching documentaries, and reading non-fiction books on science, philosophy, and history. He also practices judo and acrobatic sports.
Sofia Semyrenko, BSc
Lab Manager | Texas Twin Project Manager
Sofia joined the Behavior Genetics Lab in the summer of 2023. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Neuroscience Scholars and a certificate in Forensic Science. Before joining the team, she worked as a research assistant at the Epigenetics, Development and Neuroscience Lab, studying the impact of environmental factors on working memory. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the effects of prenatal exposure to a bisphenol mixture on anxiety-like behaviors in rodents. Sofia’s research interests center on the interaction between adverse childhood experiences and severe mental health disorders. Sofia plans to use behavior genetics and epigenetic methods to disentangle the etiology of personality disorders and ultimately inform novel, individual-centered interventions. Passionate about addressing the mental health crisis in the United States and globally, Sofia aims to further develop her skills and knowledge through a Ph.D. program in the near future. In her free time, Sofia enjoys rock climbing, playing the piano, hiking, and spending time with her two cats, Fluff and Cleo.
Katarina Jakimier
Lead Research Assistant
Katarina is a junior double majoring in Psychology and Religious Studies. On the pre-MD/PhD track, she plans to incorporate both her majors and her Philosophy minor into a career in pediatric epigenetic research and psychopathology treatment. Katarina is lead undergraduate research assistant at the Harden lab, on the clinical trial team studying truncated TMS protocol efficacy in pediatric first-episode depression, an active leader in Jewish student life, and vice president of the student-run Texas Ballet organisation. She will return to Rome next spring to help UT’s Dr. Theriault research and write his next book on the Papacy. In her free time, you can find Katarina at her sorority house reading Kant or the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry — with a matcha within reach.
Lab Alumni
Camille Williams, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow ⇒ Post-doctoral fellow at the Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistiques (LSCP), École Normale Supérieure in Paris.
Peter Tanksley, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow ⇒ ALERRT Research Scientist at Texas State University
Liza Vinnik, M.S.
Data Analyst ⇒ Data Manager, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School
Vanessa Fishel, B.S.
Project Manager ⇒ Ph.D. Student, Clinical Psychology, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
James Madole, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student, Clinical Psychology ⇒ Psychologist (Veteran Affairs)
Aditi Sabhlok, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student, Clinical Psychology ⇒ Postdoctoral Fellow at Baylor College of Medicine
Laurel Raffington, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow ⇒ Leader of the Max Planck Research Group Biosocial – Biology, Social Disparities, and Development
Margherita Malanchini, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow ⇒ Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London
Sam Freis, B.S.
Lab Manager ⇒ Ph.D. student, CU Boulder
Megan Patterson, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow ⇒ Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, University of Colorado
Travis Mallard, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student, Clinical Psychology ⇒Postdoctoral research fellow at the Psychiatric & Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit and the Center for Genomic Medicine
Andrew Grotzinger, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student, Clinical Psychology ⇒ Assistant Professor, CU Boulder
Marie Carlson, Ph.D.
Frank Mann, Ph.D.
Ph.D Student ⇒ Senior Research Scientist at Stony Brook University
James Ashenhurst, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow ⇒ Senior Product Scientist, 23andMe
Amanda Cheung, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student, Clinical Psychology ⇒ Research Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong
Natalie Kretsch, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student ⇒ Licensed psychologist, Private Practice
D. A. Briley, Ph.D.
Ph.D. student ⇒ Associate Head, Diversity and Inclusion, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign