Hanke Heun-Johnson, PhD

Biography

Hanke Heun-Johnson is a research scientist USC Schaeffer Center. Her current research is focused on cognition, COVID-19, obesity, and adverse childhood experiences, using dynamic microsimulations to model health and economic outcomes. In a prior position at the Schaeffer Center, she studied mental healthcare access and early interventions for the Keck-Schaeffer Initiative for Population Health Policy. Before joining the Schaeffer Center, her dissertation research focused on the interaction effects of early-life stress and genetic variations on brain circuit development and behavior at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Southern California, a master’s in molecular biology, and a BSc in biological health sciences from Maastricht University in the Netherlands.