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Anna R. Docherty

anna docherty

 

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Neurobiology of Disease
Brain and Behavior

E-mail:

anna.docherty@utah.edu

Education:

B.A. 2002, Oberlin College; Ph.D. 2013, University of Missouri-Columbia. Postdoctoral Fellow 2013-2016, Virginia Insitute for Psychiatric & Behavioral Genetics

 

RESEARCH:

Dr. Anna Docherty is a clinical psychologist and statistical geneticist whose research focuses on the genomic architecture of severe mental illness and suicide. She leads multiple NIMH-funded projects, including two R01s investigating multi-ancestry genomic predictors of suicide death in the U.S. and India, and she co-leads an NIMH R01 with Mount Sinai to develop global research infrastructure for Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) suicide studies. Dr. Docherty serves on the PGC Steering Committee and co-chairs the PGC Suicide Working Group, contributing to large-scale international genomic discovery and capacity-building.
 
At the University of Utah, she is Associate Director of the NIH NCATS–funded Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), where she supports strategic research infrastructure and translational science initiatives. Her work integrates computational genomics, clinical psychiatry, and global mental health to improve risk prediction and treatment outcomes for depression, psychosis, and treatment-resistant illness.
 

Selected Publications:

1.    Voytenko, V.L. et al. Developing a Treatment-Resistant Depression Consultation Program, Part I: Practical and Logistical Considerations. J Clin Psychiatry 86(2025).
2.    Ruggero, C.J. et al. Where is mania in the meta-structure of psychopathology? Psychol Med 55, e342 (2025).
3.    Mann, F.D. et al. Polygenic Risk and Exposure Severity Predict Trajectories of PTSD: A Prospective Cohort Study. Mol Psychiatry (2025).
4.    Johnson, E.C. et al. Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits. Psychol Med 55, e234 (2025).
5.    Hatoum, A.S. et al. Concerns about genetic risk testing for opioid use disorder. Lancet Psychiatry 12, 94-95 (2025).
6.    Colbert, S.M.C. et al. Defining suicidality phenotypes for genetic studies: perspectives of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Suicide Working Group. Mol Psychiatry 30, 6144-6154 (2025).
7.    Cabrera-Mendoza, B. et al. Equitable Collaboration Between LMIC and HIC Researchers, Part I: A Preliminary Framework for Capacity Building in Psychiatric Genetics Research. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 198, 154-167 (2025).
8.    Agrawal, A. et al. The Psychiatric Genomics Consortium: discoveries and directions. Lancet Psychiatry 12, 600-610 (2025).
9.    Nievergelt, C.M. et al. Genome-wide association analyses identify 95 risk loci and provide insights into the neurobiology of post-traumatic stress disorder. Nat Genet 56, 792-808 (2024).
10.   Kaufman, E.A. et al. Diagnostic profiles among suicide decedents with and without borderline personality disorder. Psychol Med 54, 1-10 (2024).
11.   Jonas, K.G. et al. Psychosis superspectrum I: Nosology, etiology, and lifespan development. Mol Psychiatry 29, 1005-1019 (2024).
12.   Cabrera-Mendoza, B. et al. Estimating the direct effects of the genetic liabilities to bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and behavioral traits on suicide attempt using a multivariable Mendelian randomization approach. Neuropsychopharmacology 49, 1383-1391 (2024).
13.   Mann, F.D. et al. Genetic Liability, Exposure Severity, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Predict Cognitive Impairment in World Trade Center Responders. J Alzheimers Dis 92, 701-712 (2023).
14.   Kimbrel, N.A. et al. Identification of Novel, Replicable Genetic Risk Loci for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Among US Military Veterans. JAMA Psychiatry 80, 135-145 (2023).
15.   Harrison, T.J. et al. Examining the relationship between genetic risk for depression and youth episodic stress exposure. J Affect Disord 340, 649-657 (2023).
16.   Han, S. et al. Whole-genome sequencing analysis of suicide deaths integrating brain-regulatory eQTLs data to identify risk loci and genes. Mol Psychiatry 28, 3909-3919 (2023).
17.   Docherty, A.R. et al. GWAS Meta-Analysis of Suicide Attempt: Identification of 12 Genome-Wide Significant Loci and Implication of Genetic Risks for Specific Health Factors. Am J Psychiatry 180, 723-738 (2023).
18.   Docherty, A.R. Rare Copy Number Variation in Schizophrenia and Implications for Treatment. Schizophr Bull 49, 827-828 (2023).
19.   Docherty, A.R. Pleiotropic CACNA1C Variants and Neuronal Function in Psychosis. Schizophr Bull 49, 1095-1096 (2023).
20.   Ashley-Koch, A.E. et al. Genome-wide association study identifies four pan-ancestry loci for suicidal ideation in the Million Veteran Program. PLoS Genet 19, e1010623 (2023).
21.   Saunders, G.R.B. et al. Genetic diversity fuels gene discovery for tobacco and alcohol use. Nature 612, 720-724 (2022).
22.   Mullins, N. et al. Dissecting the Shared Genetic Architecture of Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric Disorders, and Known Risk Factors. Biol Psychiatry 91, 313-327 (2022).
23.   Kimbrel, N.A. et al. A genome-wide association study of suicide attempts in the million veterans program identifies evidence of pan-ancestry and ancestry-specific risk loci. Mol Psychiatry 27, 2264-2272 (2022).
24.   Docherty, A.R. et al. Suicide and Psychosis: Results From a Population-Based Cohort of Suicide Death (N = 4380). Schizophr Bull 48, 457-462 (2022).
25.   Cicero, D.C. et al. Development of the Thought Disorder Measure for the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology. Assessment 29, 46-61 (2022).
26.   Kious, B.M. et al. Ethical and public health implications of genetic testing for suicide risk: family and survivor perspectives. Genet Med 23, 289-297 (2021).
27.   Waszczuk, M.A. et al. Polygenic prediction of PTSD trajectories in 9/11 responders. Psychol Med, 1-9 (2020).
28.   Soda, T. et al. International Consortium on the Genetics of Electroconvulsive Therapy and Severe Depressive Disorders (Gen-ECT-ic). Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 270, 921-932 (2020).
29.   Docherty, A.R. et al. Genome-Wide Association Study of Suicide Death and Polygenic Prediction of Clinical Antecedents. Am J Psychiatry 177, 917-927 (2020).
30.   Docherty, A.R. et al. Molecular Genetic Risk for Psychosis Is Associated With Psychosis Risk Symptoms in a Population-Based UK Cohort: Findings From Generation Scotland. Schizophr Bull 46, 1045-1052 (2020).
31.   Docherty, A.R. et al. Pathway-based polygene risk for severe depression implicates drug metabolism in CONVERGE. Psychol Med 50, 793-798 (2020).
32.   Walters, R.K. et al. Transancestral GWAS of alcohol dependence reveals common genetic underpinnings with psychiatric disorders. Nat Neurosci 21, 1656-1669 (2018).
33.   Krueger, R.F. et al. Progress in achieving quantitative classification of psychopathology. World Psychiatry 17, 282-293 (2018).
34.   Edwards, A.C. et al. Polygenic risk for severe psychopathology among Europeans is associated with major depressive disorder in Han Chinese women. Psychol Med 48, 777-789 (2018).

 

 

Last Updated: 12/29/25