World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Psychology
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Neuroscience

D-Index
138
Citations
70454
World Ranking
213
National Ranking
138

Psychology

D-Index
131
Citations
62604
World Ranking
167
National Ranking
105

Medicine

D-Index
138
Citations
70367
World Ranking
1835
National Ranking
1048

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Psychology in United States Leader Award
  • 2012 - Member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)

Overview

Kerry J. Ressler is affiliated with Harvard University in the United States. Their research spans the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and medicine, with considerable focus on clinical psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. Their work also touches areas such as epidemiology and molecular biology.

The primary topics explored in Ressler's research include stress responses and cortisol, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) research, traumatic brain injury research, child abuse and trauma, memory and neural mechanisms, functional brain connectivity studies, and the role of tryptophan in brain disorders.

Some of Ressler's recent papers are:

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder: clinical and translational neuroscience from cells to circuits, 2022, Nature Reviews Neurology
  • Prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and threat processing: implications for PTSD, 2021, Neuropsychopharmacology
  • Brain proteome-wide association study implicates novel proteins in depression pathogenesis, 2021, Nature Neuroscience
  • Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of PTSD across 10 military and civilian cohorts identifies methylation changes in AHRR, 2020, Nature Communications
  • Large-Scale Functional Brain Network Architecture Changes Associated With Trauma-Related Dissociation, 2020, American Journal of Psychiatry

Ressler frequently collaborates with other researchers. Notable coauthors include Tanja Jovanović, Jennifer S. Stevens, Karestan C. Koenen, Samuel A. McLean, and Ronald C. Kessler.

Their publications are often found in scientific venues such as Biological Psychiatry, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), UNC Libraries, Neuropsychopharmacology, and Molecular Psychiatry.

Ressler was recognized as a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 2012.

Best Publications

  • Association of FKBP5 polymorphisms and childhood abuse with risk of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in adults.

    Elisabeth B. Binder;Rebekah G. Bradley;Rebekah G. Bradley;Wei Liu;Michael P. Epstein

  • Parental olfactory experience influences behavior and neural structure in subsequent generations

    Brian George Dias;Kerry Ressler

  • Allele-specific FKBP5 DNA demethylation mediates gene-childhood trauma interactions

    Torsten Klengel;Divya Mehta;Christoph Anacker;Monika Rex-Haffner

  • Information coding in the olfactory system: Evidence for a stereotyped and highly organized epitope map in the olfactory bulb

    Kerry J. Ressler;Susan L. Sullivan;Linda B. Buck

  • Cognitive enhancers as adjuncts to psychotherapy: use of D-cycloserine in phobic individuals to facilitate extinction of fear.

    Kerry J. Ressler;Barbara O. Rothbaum;Libby Tannenbaum;Page Anderson

  • Role of serotonergic and noradrenergic systems in the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety disorders.

    Kerry J. Ressler;Charles B. Nemeroff

  • A zonal organization of odorant receptor gene expression in the olfactory epithelium

    Kerry J. Ressler;Susan L. Sullivan;Linda B. Buck

  • Targeting abnormal neural circuits in mood and anxiety disorders: from the laboratory to the clinic

    Kerry J Ressler;Helen S Mayberg

  • Analysis of polygenic risk score usage and performance in diverse human populations

    L. Duncan;H. Shen;B. Gelaye;J. Meijsen

  • Facilitation of Conditioned Fear Extinction by Systemic Administration or Intra-Amygdala Infusions of d-Cycloserine as Assessed with Fear-Potentiated Startle in Rats

    David L. Walker;Kerry J. Ressler;Kwok Tung Lu;Michael Davis

  • Epigenetic Signatures of Cigarette Smoking

    Roby Joehanes;Allan C. Just;Riccardo E. Marioni;Luke C. Pilling

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder is associated with PACAP and the PAC1 receptor

    Kerry J. Ressler;Kerry J. Ressler;Kerry J. Ressler;Kristina B. Mercer;Bekh Bradley;Bekh Bradley;Tanja Jovanovic

  • Influence of child abuse on adult depression: moderation by the corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor gene.

    Rebekah G. Bradley;Elisabeth B. Binder;Michael P. Epstein;Yilang Tang

  • Hippocampus-specific deletion of BDNF in adult mice impairs spatial memory and extinction of aversive memories

    SA Heldt;L Stanek;L Stanek;JP Chhatwal;JP Chhatwal;Kerry Ressler;Kerry Ressler

  • Inflammation in Fear- and Anxiety-Based Disorders: PTSD, GAD, and Beyond.

    Vasiliki Michopoulos;Vasiliki Michopoulos;Abigail Powers;Charles F Gillespie;Kerry J Ressler

  • The transcriptional landscape of age in human peripheral blood

    Marjolein J. Peters;Roby Joehanes;Luke C. Pilling;Claudia Schurmann;Claudia Schurmann

  • Fear conditioning, synaptic plasticity and the amygdala: implications for posttraumatic stress disorder

    Amy L. Mahan;Kerry J. Ressler;Kerry J. Ressler

  • The Neurobiology of Anxiety Disorders: Brain Imaging, Genetics, and Psychoneuroendocrinology

    Elizabeth I. Martin;Kerry J. Ressler;Kerry J. Ressler;Elisabeth Binder;Elisabeth Binder;Charles B. Nemeroff

  • International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci

    Caroline M. Nievergelt;Caroline M. Nievergelt;Adam X. Maihofer;Adam X. Maihofer;Torsten Klengel;Torsten Klengel;Elizabeth G. Atkinson;Elizabeth G. Atkinson

  • Effects of D-Cycloserine on Extinction: Translation From Preclinical to Clinical Work

    Michael Davis;Kerry Ressler;Barbara O. Rothbaum;Rick Richardson

  • Childhood maltreatment is associated with distinct genomic and epigenetic profiles in posttraumatic stress disorder

    Divya Mehta;Torsten Klengel;Karen N. Conneely;Alicia K. Smith

Frequent Co-Authors

Bekh Bradley
Bekh Bradley Emory University
Tanja Jovanovic
Tanja Jovanovic Wayne State University
Elisabeth B. Binder
Elisabeth B. Binder Max Planck Society
Karestan C. Koenen
Karestan C. Koenen Harvard University
Seth D. Norrholm
Seth D. Norrholm Wayne State University
Barbara O. Rothbaum
Barbara O. Rothbaum Emory University
Michael Davis
Michael Davis Georgia Institute of Technology
Caroline M. Nievergelt
Caroline M. Nievergelt University of California, San Diego
Negar Fani
Negar Fani Emory University
Charles B. Nemeroff
Charles B. Nemeroff The University of Texas at Austin

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