Darby Saxbe, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Southern California
Darby Saxbe, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Southern California, where her research focuses on the transition to parenthood, particularly the neural and hormonal underpinnings of fatherhood. Integrating neuroscience and psychology, she explores how close connections shape health and wellbeing. She is the author of the 2026 book Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men’s Lives.
Saxbe has published more than eighty scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, has received major research grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and has earned awards from the American Psychological Association and the Society for Research in Child Development. A former Fulbright fellow, she received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from UCLA and her B.A. in English and psychology from Yale University. She writes the Substack newsletter Natal Gazing, plays guitar in an all-mom indie rock band, was by her own account a mediocre contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and recently lost a chili cook-off.
