Emma Johnson

Education & Training

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• Ph.D.: University of Colorado Boulder, 2017
• M.A.: University of Colorado Boulder, 2016
• B.S.: University North Carolina, 2013

Major Awards

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• NIDA-NIAAA Early Career Investigator Showcase awardee, 2021
• RSA Memorial Award, 2019
• WCPG Early Career Investigator Program – Oral Presentation Award winner, 2019
• ASHG Reviewer’s Choice Abstract, 2017

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Research Interests

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My long-term research goal is to better understand the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders, particularly focusing on substance use and addictions. Within addictions, I am particularly interested in the study of more commonly used drugs, such as alcohol and cannabis. One current area of research interest is characterizing the relationships between substance use disorders and other psychiatric disorders and mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and chronic pain. A second area of research interest is using approaches from the population and evolutionary genetics fields to learn more about the genetic architecture of psychiatric disorders. I am currently one of the analysts for the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium’s Substance Use Disorders working group and a co-investigator in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism.

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Recent Publications

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• Methylomic signature of current cannabis use in two first-episode psychosis cohorts

  Dempster, E. L., Wong, C. C. Y., Burrage, J., Hannon, E., Quattrone, D., Trotta, G., Rodriguez, V., Alameda, L., Spinazzola, E., Tripoli, G., Austin-Zimmerman, I., Li, Z., Gayer-Anderson, C., Freeman, T. P., Johnson, E. C., Jongsma, H. E., Stilo, S., La Cascia, C., Ferraro, L. & La Barbera, D. & 32 others, Lasalvia, A., Tosato, S., Tarricone, I., D’Andrea, G., Galatolo, M., Tortelli, A., Pompili, M., Selten, J. P., de Haan, L., Menezes, P. R., Del Ben, C. M., Santos, J. L., Arrojo, M., Bobes, J., Sanjuán, J., Bernardo, M., Arango, C., Jones, P. B., Breen, G., Mondelli, V., Dazzan, P., Iyegbe, C., Vassos, E., Morgan, C., Mukherjee, D., van Os, J., Rutten, B., O’Donovan, M. C., Sham, P., Mill, J., Murray, R. & Di Forti, M., Apr 2025, In: Molecular Psychiatry. 30, 4, p. 1277-1286 10 p., 114.

• Correction to: Multivariate analysis of 1.5 million people identifies genetic associations with traits related to self-regulation and addiction (Nature Neuroscience, (2021), 24, 10, (1367-1376), 10.1038/s41593-021-00908-3)

  COGA Collaborators, Jan 2025, In: Nature neuroscience. 28, 1, p. 213 1 p.

• Cross-ancestry genetic investigation of schizophrenia, cannabis use disorder, and tobacco smoking

  Johnson, E. C., Austin-Zimmerman, I., Thorpe, H. H. A., Levey, D. F., Baranger, D. A. A., Colbert, S. M. C., Demontis, D., Khokhar, J. Y., Davis, L. K., Edenberg, H. J., Di Forti, M., Sanchez-Roige, S., Gelernter, J. & Agrawal, A., Oct 2024, In: Neuropsychopharmacology. 49, 11, p. 1655-1665 11 p.

• Cannabis and Psychosis: Weeding Out Fact from Fiction

  Johnson, E. C. & Agrawal, A., Sep 1 2024, In: Missouri Medicine. 121, 5, p. 333-339 7 p.

• Prenatal cannabis exposure, the brain, and psychopathology during early adolescence

  Baranger, D. A. A., Miller, A. P., Gorelik, A. J., Paul, S. E., Hatoum, A. S., Johnson, E. C., Colbert, S. M. C., Smyser, C. D., Rogers, C. E., Bijsterbosch, J. D., Agrawal, A. & Bogdan, R., Aug 2024, In: Nature Mental Health. 2, 8, p. 975-986 12 p., 2613.

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Funded Research Projects

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