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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A Phenome-Wide association study (PheWAS) of genetic risk for C-reactive protein in children of European Ancestry: Results from the ABCD study
Norton, S. A., Gorelik, A. J., Paul, S. E., Johnson, E., Baranger, D. A., Siudzinski, J. L., Li, Z. A., Bondy, E., Modi, H., Karcher, N. R., Hershey, T., Hatoum, A. S., Agrawal, A. & Bogdan, R., Aug 2025, In: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. 128, p. 487-496 10 p.
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Online racism and psychotic experiences among Black American and Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander American emerging adults in the United States
Oh, H. Y., Keum, B., Shults, E., Yang, S., Anglin, D., Oluwoye, O. & Karcher, N. R., Jul 2025, In: Schizophrenia research. 281, p. 132-137 6 p.
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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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Psychosis Spectrum Symptoms before and after Adolescent Cannabis Use Initiation
Osborne, K. J., Barch, D. M., Jackson, J. J. & Karcher, N. R., Feb 5 2025, In: JAMA psychiatry. 82, 2, p. 181-190 10 p.
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Perceptions of anti-racism efforts and mental health among students in higher education in the United States
Oh, H., Karcher, N. R., Besecker, M., DeVylder, J. E. & Lincoln, K. D., 2025, In: Frontiers in Public Health. 13, 1529835.