Megan M. Herting, PhD

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and the Director of the Herting NeuroImaging Laboratory at the University of Southern California. Broadly, my research has focused on brain and cognitive development in healthy and at-risk populations including several ongoing NIH funded studies in children, adolescents, and young adults. Using cognitive-behavioral assessments, neuropsychological testing, semi-structured mental health interviews, and a multi-modal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) approach, I aim to determine which lifestyle and environmental factors, including exposure to air pollutants, influence neurodevelopment, cognition, and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents.

I lead multiple multi-disciplinary research projects from NIH and the Health Effects Institute to determine how air pollution influences neurodevelopment, cognition, and risk for psychopathology in children and adolescents [R01 ES032295, R01 ES031074, HEI RFA 18-2]. At a national level, I have been actively involved since 2016 in collaborations that aim to further assess how the environment may affect brain maturation, including co-chair of the Link External Data – Environment Working Group for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study [U01 DA041048] and Neurodevelopment Working Group for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program [4UH3 OD023287]. Moreover, I have co-founded the ENIGMA Environment Working Group to elucidate how environmental exposures impact brain structures and networks, neural function and behavior across the lifespan and risk for neurological conditions [R01 ES033961].

• The role of air pollution in emotional neurodevelopment and risk for psychiatric disorders
  NIH · R01ES032295 · Sep 21, 2020 – Jun 30, 2025 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Urban air pollution and neurobehavioral trajectories in the ABCD study
  NIH · R01ES031074 · Sep 9, 2020 – Apr 30, 2031 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Air pollution exposure and prefrontal connectivity in early adolescence
  Health Effects Institute · Feb 1, 2020 – Jan 31, 2023 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Multiband ASL for Neurodevelopment Study
  NIH · R01EB028297 · Jul 5, 2019 – Mar 31, 2025 · Role: Co-Investigator
• Air pollution exposure and neurocognition in young adults from the Children’s Health Study
  Rose Hills Foundation · Jul 1, 2019 – Jun 30, 2020 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Brain-behavioral risk factors for childhood obesity
  USC Diabetes & Obesity Research Institute (DORI) · Jul 1, 2018 – Jun 30, 2020 · Role: Principal Investigator
• The Role of Androgens in Amygdala Subnuclei Development Across Human Adolescence
  NIH · R03HD090308 · Jul 18, 2017 – Jun 30, 2020 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Lifecourse Approach to Developmental Repercussions of Environmental Agents on Metabolic and Respiratory health (LA DREAMERs)
  NIH · UH3OD023287 · Sep 21, 2016 – Aug 31, 2023 · Role: Co-Investigator
• The Influence of Fetal Testosterone on Emotional Processing, Amydala Neurocircuitry, and Risk for Affective Disorders in Childhood
  NIH · K01MH108761 · Aug 12, 2016 – Jul 31, 2021 · Role: Principal Investigator
• 8/21 ABCD-USA CONSORTIUM: RESEARCH PROJECT SITE AT CHLA
  NIH · U01DA041048 · Sep 30, 2015 – Mar 31, 2027 · Role: Co-Principal Investigator
• A longitudinal study: the influence of sex and puberty on neurodevelopment
  NIH · F32HD078084 · Aug 1, 2013 – Jul 31, 2016 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Exercise and Hippocampal Structure and Function in Adolescents
  NIH · F31AA019866 · Aug 1, 2010 – Jul 31, 2013 · Role: Principal Investigator

• Peters, Anne
• Thompson, Paul
• Chen, Jiu-Chiuan
• McConnell, Rob
• Habre, Rima
• Toga, Arthur