Nicole Karcher
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
- Phone: 314-935-8459
- Email: nkarcher@nospam.wustl.edu
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2020
- Ph.D.: University of Missouri Columbia, 2017
- M.A.: University of Missouri Columbia, 2012
- B.A.: College of William and Mary, 2008
Major Awards
- Schizophrenia International Research Society Rising Star Award, 2025
- Maltz Prize for Innovative and Promising Schizophrenia Research, 2024
- NIMH K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award, 2020
- NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, 2019
- Mark H. Thelen Outstanding Clinical Graduate Student Award, 2015
Research Interests
My research primarily focuses on understanding the neural, genetic, cognitive, and environmental factors underlying the development and persistence of psychotic-like experiences in childhood and adolescence. My work uses several methodologies, including functional MRI, structural MRI, epidemiological, and genomic approaches to the study of the etiology of psychotic-like experiences. I am also motivated to develop identification and prevention efforts for children and adolescents at risk for the development of psychotic experiences, including efforts to reduce mental health disparities.
Recent Publications
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Evidence for Environmental Risk Factors and Cumulative Stress Linking Racial/Ethnic Identity and Psychotic-Like Experiences in ABCD Study Data
Petti, E., Schiffman, J., Oh, H. & Karcher, N. R., Mar 2025, In: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 64, 3, p. 386-397 12 p.
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A Site-Wise Reliability Analysis of the ABCD Diffusion Fractional Anisotropy and Cortical Thickness: Impact of Scanner Platforms
Pan, Y., Hong, L. E., Acheson, A., Thompson, P. M., Jahanshad, N., Zhu, A. H., Yu, J., Chen, C., Ma, T., Liu, H. L., Veraart, J., Fieremans, E., Karcher, N. R., Kochunov, P. & Chen, S., Nov 2024, In: Human Brain Mapping. 45, 16, e70070.
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Network-level enrichment provides a framework for biological interpretation of machine learning results
Li, J., Segel, A., Feng, X., Tu, J. C., Eck, A., King, K. T., Adeyemo, B., Karcher, N., Chen, L., Eggebrecht, A. T. & Wheelock, M., Oct 1 2024, In: Network Neuroscience. 8, 3, p. 762-790 29 p.
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Examining the Most Important Risk Factors for Predicting Youth Persistent and Distressing Psychotic-Like Experiences
Karcher, N. R., Sotiras, A., Niendam, T. A., Walker, E. F., Jackson, J. J. & Barch, D. M., Sep 2024, In: Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. 9, 9, p. 939-947 9 p.
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Ethno-racial disparities in psychosis-like experiences among students in higher education: Findings from the Healthy Minds Study 2020–2021
Oh, H., Karcher, N. R., Li Verdugo, J., Botello, R., DeVylder, J. E. & Anglin, D., Jul 2024, In: Psychiatry Research. 337, 115959.