Regan Harle (United Kingdom)

Biography

Regan joined the Kember Lab at the University of Pennsylvania as a Postdoctoral Researcher in January 2025, where her work, funded by the psycheMERGE initiative, focuses on integrating genetic and electronic health record data within the Penn Medicine Biobank to better understand psychiatric disorders, with a particular emphasis on anxiety and a keen interest in furthering precision medicine.

Regan earned a PhD in Neuropsychology from University College London, where her dissertation focused on the role of language-related brain regions in the conscious experience induced by psychedelic drugs and the overall intersection of language, consciousness, and well-being. She has also worked on validating Google AlphaFold structures of LSD and DMT during an internship at Carleton University, and she holds an MSc in Biomedical & Molecular Research from King’s College London. Regan wants to live in a world where people do not have to go through trial and error with their psychiatric medication and can be prescribed the drug they need without having to suffer the side effects or a series of unnecessary treatments.

In addition, coming from a small, low income, mining village, with a population of less than 500, in the North East of England, Regan not only understands what it means to make a drastic move to a city, but also internationally. She has navigated the VISA process, gone through several international interviews, eventually secured funding, gained a social security number, a credit rating, and is still baffled by the health system. She wishes that someone had been there to listen and guide her through any of the confusion, so she wants to be that person for others, especially as a postdoc.

In her spare time, Regan enjoys fashion, going to conventions centered around anime, cosplaying, performing and watching drag, going to alternative music shows and pink is her favorite color.