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Hanna Stevens, MD, PhD

Professor of Psychiatry

Introduction

Hanna Stevens runs the Psychiatry and Early Neurobiological Development Lab (PENDL) at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Her research seeks to understand molecular and cellular aspects of early brain development and their relevance to psychiatric disorders. Her work is particularly focused on understanding how prenatal stress, environmental exposures and genes that play a role in early development have an impact on childhood behavior and act as risk factors for multiple psychiatric disorders. Our goal is to advance mental health diagnosis and treatment of disorders across the lifespan. We particularly focus on the high risk times of pregnancy and early development.

Current Positions

  • Professor of Psychiatry
  • Ida P. Haller Chair, Psychiatry
  • Division Director, Child Psychiatry

Education

  • BS in Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University
  • PhD in Neuroscience, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • MD in Medical Scholars Program, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign
  • Resident in Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine
  • Fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Yale Child Study Center

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Licenses & Certifications

  • Diplomat in Subspecialty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
  • Diplomat, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Selected Publications

  • Stevens, H.E., Scuderi, S., Collica, S.C., Tomasi, S., Horvath, T.L., Vaccarino, F.M. (2023) Neonatal loss of FGFR2 in astroglial cells affects locomotion, sociability, working memory, and glia-neuron interactions in mice. Translational Psychiatry 13. DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02372-y
  • Elser, B.A., Hing, B., Stevens, H.E. (2022) A narrative review of converging evidence addressing developmental toxicity of pyrethroid insecticides. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 52 (5) 371-388. DOI: 10.1080/10408444.2022.2122769
  • Gumusoglu, S.B., Maurer, S.V., Stevens, H.E. (2022) Dataset describing maternal prenatal restraint stress effects on immune factors in mice. Data in Brief 43. DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2022.108348
  • Elser, B.A., Simonsen, D., Lehmler, H.-J., Stevens, H.E. (2022) Maternal and fetal tissue distribution of α-cypermethrin and permethrin in pregnant CD-1 mice. Environmental Advances 8. DOI: 10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100239
  • Schroeder, R., Nguyen, L., Pieper, A.A., Stevens, H.E. (2022) Maternal treatment with P7C3-A20 protects from impaired maternal care after chronic gestational stress. Behavioural Brain Research 416. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113558
  • Himmelstein, R., Guth, S., Enenbach, M., Gleason, M.M., Stevens, H., Glowinski, A., Kolevzon, A., Martin, A. (2022) Psychiatry Match Rates Increase After Exposure to a Medical Student Mentorship Program: A Multisite Retrospective Cohort Analysis. Academic Psychiatry 46 40-44. DOI: 10.1007/s40596-020-01210-3
  • Davis, J.L.-B., O’connor, M., Erlbacher, H., Schlichte, S.L., Stevens, H.E. (2022) The Impact of Maternal Antioxidants on Prenatal Stress Effects on Offspring Neurobiology and Behavior. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 95 (1) 87-104.
  • McGinty, K., Stevens, H., Martin, E., Elliott, A. (2021) Adolescent catatonia preceded by undiagnosed anorexia nervosa. Psychiatric Annals 51 (2) 95-98. DOI: 10.3928/00485713-20210104-01
  • Kundu, S., Maurer, S.V., Stevens, H.E. (2021) Future Horizons for Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Placental Mechanisms. Frontiers in Pediatrics 9 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2021.653230
  • Wong, C.A., Stevens, H. (2021) Labor Epidural Analgesia and Autism Spectrum Disorder: Is There an Association? JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association 326 (10) 1155-1157. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2021.15369