Karen J. Parker

I am the Truong-Tan Broadcom Endowed Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, where I hold several departmental leadership positions. These include serving as Chair of the Major Laboratories Steering Committee and as Associate Chair for Research Strategy and Oversight. I also have a courtesy faculty appointment in Stanford’s Department of Comparative Medicine, and I am an affiliate scientist at the California National Primate Research Center.

At Stanford, I direct the Social Neurosciences Research Program. We seek to advance understanding of the biological basis of social functioning across a range of species and to translate these fundamental insights to drive diagnostic and treatment advances for patients with social impairment. My core research interests include: oxytocin and vasopressin signaling pathways, development of valid animal models for streamlined translation and clinical impact, and biomarker discovery and therapeutic testing in people on the autism spectrum.

I recently wrote an invited narrative review charting my scientific journey and detailing my personal and professional experiences in the field of social neuroscience. You can read it here. When I am not writing grants or mentoring students in the laboratory, I enjoy traveling, cooking, hiking in the local redwood tree forests with my Australian shepherds, and spending time with my family.