
Lana Lee Harder, PhD, ABPP
Pediatric Neuropsychologist
- Languages Spoken:
- English

Biography
Lana Harder, PhD, ABPP is Chief Neuropsychologist and the Director of the Neuropsychology Service. She is the Co-Director of the Neuropsychology training program at Children’s Health. She holds dual faculty appointments as Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at UT Southwestern. Dr. Harder is board certified in Clinical Neuropsychology and is a board-certified Subspecialist in Pediatric Neuropsychology.
Nationally, Dr. Harder serves as the President of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN). She has served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN) and two consecutive terms on the Board of Directors of APPCN. She also serves on the Board of Directors and Medical and Scientific Council of the Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association. Dr. Harder is a Fellow of the National Academy of Neuropsychology.
Dr. Harder earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin and completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed post-doctoral fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Harder has served as a Pediatric Neuropsychologist at Children’s Medical Center since 2008. She was a founding member and is the current Co-Director of the Children’s Medical Center Pediatric Demyelinating Diseases Clinic. Inspired by her work evaluating children with rare disorders, Dr. Harder published the first study on home-based pediatric tele-neuropsychology. Additional research interests include brain imaging correlates of neuropsychological functioning in demyelinating disorders, and longitudinal cognitive and psychosocial outcomes for pediatric multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and neuromyelitis optica. Dr. Harder also participates in a multi-site longitudinal investigation on the impact of cancer and its treatment on early development in infants and toddlers.
During her free time, Dr. Harder enjoys spending time with her family in nature and volunteering in the DFW community.
Education and Training
- Internship
- Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins Univ. SOM (2006), Psychology
- Fellowship
- Texas Childrens Hosp. / Baylor College of Medicine (2008), Pediatric Neuropsychology
- Graduate School
- University of Texas at Austin (2006)
University of Texas at Austin (2006) - Board Certification
- American Board of Professional Psychology
Conditions
- Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD)
- Optic neuritis (ON)
- Transverse myelitis (TM)
- Cognitive disorders
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Acute flaccid myelitis
- Anti-MOG associated encephalomyelitis
Departments and Programs
-
Research Interests
- Brain imaging correlates of neuropsychological functioning in CNS demyelinating disorders, and longitudinal cognitive and psychosocial outcomes for pediatric multiple sclerosis, mylelin oliogodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD), transverse myelitis, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and neuromyelitis optica.
- Longitudinal impact of cancer and its treatment on early development in infants and toddlers
-
Publications
- Somekh, M.R., Ashford, J.M., Swain, M.A., Harder, L.L., Carlson-Green, B.L., Wallace, J., Kaner, R.J., Billups, C.A., Onar-Thomas, A., Ali, J.S., Harman, J.L., Merchant, T.E., Gajjar, A., & Conklin, H.M. (2024) Academic Readiness among Young Children Treated for Brain Tumors: A Multisite, Prospective, Longitudinal Trial. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djae194
- Nguyen, L., Miles, D.K., Harder, L., Singh, S., Whittemore, B.A., Greenberg, B.M., & Wang, C.X. (2023). Increased intracranial pressure in pediatric myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease. Neurology Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation.
- Sperling, S., Acheson, S.K., Fox-Fuller, J., Colvin, M.K., Harder, L., Cullum, C.M., Randolph, J.J., Carter, K.R., Espe-Pfeifer, P., Lacritz, L.H., Arnett, P.A., & Gillaspy, S.R. (2023) Tele-Neuropsychology: From Science to Policy to Practice. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology.
-
Professional Activities
- American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology
- American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology Board of Directors (2018)
- Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology Board of Directors (2015)
- International Neuropsychological Society
- National Academy of Neuropsychology
- Siegel Rare Neuroimmune Association Board of Directors (2016)
- Transverse Myelitis Association Medical and Scientific Council (2012)