Elaine F. WalkerCharles Howard Candler Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Elaine Walker is an alumnae of Washington University in St. Louis and received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. After a postdoctoral fellowship, she joined the faculty of Cornell University in 1980, moving to Emory University in 1986. She previously served as president of the Society for Research in Psychopathology (SRP) and chair of Emory’s Department of Psychology.

She leads a research laboratory that has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and private foundations for over 30 years to study risk factors for major mental illness, especially psychosis. Her research has focused on both the behavioral and neurobiological factors associated with psychosis risk. The goals are to enhance the ability to predict psychotic disorders and to shed light on the neurobiological processes that precede the onset of these illnesses.

Along with collaborators and students, she has published 5 books and over 350 scientific articles.

She heads the Emory site for the NIMH North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study, and has received NIMH Career Development awards, the WT Grant Faculty/Scholar Award, Zubin Memorial Award, the Gralnick Award, Cattell Foundation Award, SRP Lifetime achievement Award, APS James McKeen Cattell Lifetime Award, the SRP John Neale mentorship award, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the advancement of Science.

Research Interests

Neurodevelopmental, socioemotional and neuropsychological aspects of major mental illness. Neuroendocrinology and the role of stress in the etiology of mental illness. Forensic issues in the defense of psychotic offenders, and the application of the insanity plea.

Research Areas

Dr. Walker’s research focuses on the precursors and neurodevelopmental aspects of psychopathology, especially schizophrenia. Ongoing research is concerned with brain development, hormones, and neuropsychological functions that may play a role in risk for and prevention of mental illness.

Research Program Members & Collaborators at Emory

• PSYC 190: Freshman Seminar in Psychology
• PSYC 210: Abnormal Psychology
• PSYC 385R: Special Topics in Psychology
• PSYC 541: Personality and Psychopathology
• PSYC 473R: Advanced Topics in Abnormal Psychology
• PSYC 750R: Clinical Supervision: Community Practicum
• PSYC 770R: Topical Seminars in Psychology

PubMed

Recent publications

• Hamilton, H. K., Roach, B. J., Bachman, P. M., Belger, A., Carrion, R. E., Duncan, E., ... Walker, E.F.,  & Bearden, C. E. (2019). Association between P300 responses to auditory oddball stimuli and clinical outcomes in the psychosis risk syndrome. JAMA psychiatry, 76(11), 1187-1197.
• Powers, A.R., Addington, J., Perkins, D.O., Bearden, C.E., Cadenhead, K.S., Cannon, T.D., Cornblatt, B.A., Mathalon, D.H., Seidman, L.J., Tsuang, M.T. and Walker, E.F., 2020. Duration of the psychosis prodrome. Schizophrenia research, 216, pp.443-449.
• Perkins, D. O., Olde Loohuis, L., Barbee, J., Ford, J., Jeffries, C. D., Addington, J., ... Walker, E.F., & Mathalon, D. H. (2020). Polygenic risk score contribution to psychosis prediction in a target population of persons at clinical high risk. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(2), 155-163.
• Fryer, S. L., Roach, B. J., Hamilton, H. K., Bachman, P., Belger, A., Carrión, R. E., ... Walker, E.F., & Addington, J. (2020). Deficits in auditory predictive coding in individuals with the psychosis risk syndrome: Prediction of conversion to psychosis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 129(6), 599.
• Strauss, G. P., Pelletier-Baldelli, A., Visser, K. F., Walker, E. F., & Mittal, V. A. (2020). A review of negative symptom assessment strategies in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Schizophrenia Research.
• Goines, K. B., LoPilato, A. M., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cannon, T. D., ... Tsuang, M. T. & Walker, E.F., (2019). Sleep problems and attenuated psychotic symptoms in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Psychiatry Research, 282, 112492.
• Kafadar, E., Mittal, V. A., Strauss, G. P., Chapman, H. C., Ellman, L. M., Bansal, S., ... Walker, E.F.,  & Silverstein, S. M. (2020). Modeling perception and behavior in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis: support for the predictive processing framework. Schizophrenia Research.
• Calkins, M. E., Woods, S. W., Bearden, C. E., Liu, L., Moore, T. M., Cadenhead, K. S., ... Walker, E.F., & Seidman, L. J. (2020). Concordance and factor structure of subthreshold positive symptoms in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis. Schizophrenia Research.
• Allswede, D. M., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cornblatt, B. A., Mathalon, D. H., ... & Walker, E. F. (2020). Characterizing covariant trajectories of individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis across symptomatic and functional domains. American Journal of Psychiatry, 177(2), 164-171.
• Gupta, T., Cowan, H. R., Strauss, G. P., Walker, E. F., & Mittal, V. A. (2020). Deconstructing negative symptoms in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis: evidence for volitional and diminished emotionality subgroups that predict clinical presentation and functional outcome. Schizophrenia Bulletin.
• Goldsmith, D. R., Haroon, E., Miller, A. H., Addington, J., Bearden, C., Cadenhead, K., ... Seidman, L. & Walker, E.F., (2019). Association of baseline inflammatory markers and the development of negative symptoms in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Brain, behavior, and immunity, 76, 268-274.
• Chung, Y., Allswede, D., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K., Cornblatt, B., ... Walker, E.F.,  & Tsuang, M. (2019). Cortical abnormalities in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis: Findings from the NAPLS2 cohort. NeuroImage: Clinical, 23, 101862.
• Addington, J., Stowkowy, J., Liu, L., Cadenhead, K. S., Cannon, T. D., Cornblatt, B. A., ... & Walker, E. F. (2019). Clinical and functional characteristics of youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis who do not transition to psychosis. Psychological Medicine, 49(10), 1670-1677.
• Brodey, B. B., Girgis, R. R., Favorov, O. V., Bearden, C. E., Woods, S. W., Addington, J., ... Walker, E.F., & Purcell, S. E. (2019). The Early Psychosis Screener for Internet (EPSI)-SR: Predicting 12 month psychotic conversion using machine learning. Schizophrenia research, 208, 390-396.
• Sykes, L. A. Y., Ferrara, M., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cannon, T. D., ... Walker, E.F., & Tsuang, M. T. (2020). Predictive validity of conversion from the clinical high risk syndrome to frank psychosis. Schizophrenia research, 216, 184-191.
• Addington, J., Liu, L., Brummitt, K., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cornblatt, B. A., ... Walker, E.F., & Seidman, L. J. (2020). North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS 3): Methods and baseline description. Schizophrenia Research.
• Cullen, A. E., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Stone, W. S., Seidman, L. J., Cadenhead, K. S., ... Perkins, D. O. & Walker, E.F., (2020). Stressor-Cortisol Concordance Among Individuals at Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis: Novel Findings from the NAPLS Cohort. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 104649.
• Foss-Feig, J. H., Velthorst, E., Smith, L., Reichenberg, A., Addington, J., Cadenhead, K. S., ... Walker, E.F., & Seidman, L. J. (2019). Clinical profiles and conversion rates among young individuals with autism spectrum disorder who present to clinical high risk for psychosis services. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(6), 582-588.
• Gold, J. M., Corlett, P. R., Strauss, G. P., Schiffman, J., Ellman, L. M., Walker, E. F., ... & Mittal, V. A. (2020). Enhancing Psychosis Risk Prediction Through Computational Cognitive Neuroscience. Schizophrenia Bulletin.
• LoPilato, A. M., Goines, K., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cannon, T. D., ... Perkins, D. O. & Walker, E.F., (2019). Impact of childhood adversity on corticolimbic volumes in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis. Schizophrenia research, 213, 48-55.
• Vargas, T., Ahmed, A. O., Strauss, G. P., Brandes, C. M., Walker, E. F., Buchanan, R. W., ... & Mittal, V. A. (2019). The latent structure of depressive symptoms across clinical high risk and chronic phases of psychotic illness. Translational psychiatry, 9(1), 1-12.is. Schizophrenia research, 213, 48-55.
• Murphy, M. M., Burrell, T. L., Cubells, J. F., Epstein, M. T., Espana, R., Gambello, M. J., ... Walker, E.F., & Saulnier, C. A. (2020). Comprehensive phenotyping of neuropsychiatric traits in a multiplex 3q29 deletion family: a case report. BMC psychiatry, 20, 1-10.
• Worthington, M. A., Walker, E. F., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Cornblatt, B. A., ... & Tsuang, M. T. (2020). Incorporating cortisol into the NAPLS2 individualized risk calculator for prediction of psychosis. Schizophrenia Research.
• LoPilato, A. M., Zhang, Y., Pike, M., Addington, J., Bearden, C. E., Cadenhead, K. S., Seidman, L. & Walker, E.F., (2020). Associations between childhood adversity, cognitive schemas and attenuated psychotic symptoms. Early Intervention in Psychiatry.
• Ellis, J. K., Walker, E. F., & Goldsmith, D. R. (2020). Selective Review of Neuroimaging Findings in Youth at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis: On the Path to Biomarkers for Conversion. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 994.
• Devoe, D. J., Lu, L., Cannon, T. D., Cadenhead, K. S., Cornblatt, B. A., McGlashan, T. H., ... & Walker, E. F. (2020). Persistent negative symptoms in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis: A longitudinal study. Schizophrenia Research.
• Cadenhead, K. S., Minichino, A., Kelsven, S., Addington, J., Bearden, C., Cannon, T. D., ... Walker, E.F., & Seidman, L. J. (2019). Metabolic abnormalities and low dietary Omega 3 are associated with symptom severity and worse functioning prior to the onset of psychosis: Findings from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Studies Consortium. Schizophrenia research, 204, 96-103.