Naomi Friedman

  • Professor
  • INSTITUTE FOR BEHAVIORAL GENETICS
  • PSYCHOLOGY & NEUROSCIENCE
Address

Institute for Behavioral Genetics
University of Colorado Boulder
447 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0447

Dr. Friedman is recruiting new students for a fall 2027 start date

Applications are typically due mid November; for exact dates please check the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience webpage, if you intend to work with Dr. Friedman. Additional information is available on IBG's Prospective Students page.

Prospective post-docs should contact Dr. Friedman directly.

Research Interests:

Mechanisms (neural and genetic) underlying individual differences in executive functions and their relations to everyday self regulation as well as various forms of psychopathology.

Active Grants:

  • NIDA R01 DA063061 (Maes, Friedman, Luciana, Madden, Wilson) 7/01/25 – 3/31/29. Vulnerability to Substance Use: Transitions and Trajectories in ABCD Youth with Validation Using Longitudinal Twin Family Samples. Role: MPI.
  • NIDA U01 DA051018 (Banich/Friedman) 4/15/20 – 03/31/27. 14/21 ABCD-USA Consortium: Research Project Site at CU Boulder. Role: MPI.
  • NIMH R01 MH124846 (Kaiser/Snyder) 6/10/22 – 4/30/27. Leveraging Latent Factors and Machine Learning to Forecast Internalizing Psychopathology in Emerging Adulthood. Role: Co-I.
  • NIA R01 AG046938 (Reynolds/Wadsworth) 6/01/15 – 5/31/27. Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan Behavioral Development & Cognitive Aging (CATSLife). Role: Co-I.
  • R21 ES035826 (Smolker), 2/07/24 – 1/31/26. Long-term Effects of Developmental Air Pollution Exposure on Adult Mental Health: Sensitive Periods, Neural Correlates, and Genetic Risk Factors. Role: Co-i.
  • NIMH T32 MH016880 (Keller, Friedman) 7/01/25 – 6/30/30. Research Training: Mental Health Behavior Genetics. Role: MPI.
  • NIDA R01 DA059804 (Gustavson) 8/15/24 – 5/31/29. Establishing if Music Engagement is a Protective Factor in Adolescent Substance Use Using Existing Longitudinal, Genetic, and Environmental Datasets. Role: Co-I.

Additional Resources:

Friedman Current lab

Friedman Former Trainees

Lee Altamirano

Doctoral Student 2013-2016

Chelsie Benca-Bachman

Doctoral Student 2013-2017

Sam Freis

Doctoral Student

Dan Gustavson

Doctoral Student 2013-2016

Alexander Hatoum

Doctoral Student 2014-2019

Claire Morrison

Doctoral Student 2018-2023

Alta du Pont

Doctoral Student 2015-2020

Lydia Rader

Doctoral Student

Andrew Reineberg

Postdoctoral trainee 2016-2022

Harry Smolker

Doctoral Student 2014-2020

Publications

Friedman Lab News

Highlighted publications

Associations between executive functions assessed in different contexts in a genetically informative sample

In this paper we used a twin design to show that performance on online cognitive tasks is genetically identical to performance on cognitive tasks administered in highly controlled laboratory settings, suggesting that at-home online cognitive tasks are valid. 

(Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2024)

Genome-wide Association Study Shows That Executive Functioning Is Influenced by GABAergic Processes and Is a Neurocognitive Genetic Correlate of Psychiatric Disorders

This study reports the first genome-wide association study of a Common Executive Function factor.

(Biological Psychology, 2023)

Do Rating and Task Measures of Control Abilities Assess the Same Thing?

Reviews possible explanations for the low correspondence between task-based and ratings-based measures of cognitive control.

(Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2022)

Twin studies to GWAS: there and back again
In this review, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of twin/family and genome-wide association study approaches with respect to characterizing genetic and environmental influences, measurement of behavioral phenotypes, and evaluation of causal models, with a particular focus on cognitive neuroscience. This discussion highlights how twin/family studies and GWAS complement and mutually reinforce one another.
 
(Trends in Cognitive Science, 2021)

Executive Functions and Impulsivity Are Genetically Distinct and Independently Predict Psychopathology: Results From Two Adult Twin Studies
In two twin studies, we examined the overlap of three executive function (EF) latent variables (a Common EF factor predicting response inhibition, working memory updating, and mental set-shifting tasks and Updating- and Shifting-Specific factors) with five impulsivity dimensions (negative and positive urgency, lack of premeditation and perseverance, and sensation seeking). Results suggest that EFs and self-reported impulsivity tap different aspects of control that are both relevant for psychopathology.
 
(Clinical Psychological Science, 2020)
 
 

Common genetic influences on impulsivity facets are related to goal management, psychopathology, and personality
In this study, we characterized the genetic/environmental commonality and heterogeneity of impulsivity facets and tested the hypothesis that goal-management is central to their common variance. Results suggest that impulsivity facets show considerable heterogeneity in addition to common variation related to goal-management abilities.
 
(Journal of Research in Personality, 2019)
 

Do executive functions explain the covariance between internalizing and externalizing behaviors?
This study examined whether executive functions (EFs) might be common features of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems across development. Results suggest that EFs are associated with stable problem behavior variation, explain small proportions of covariance, and are a risk factor that that may depend on gender.
 
(Development and Psychopathology, 2018)